


The O'merta Order

by firewolfsg



Category: Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman | Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Gen, Memory Loss, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Terrorism, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 13:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/662468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firewolfsg/pseuds/firewolfsg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman are in Marseilles to guard the UN Delegation when Jinpei disappears and falls into the company of a certain Cajun thief... with his own agenda.</p>
<p>An Alternate Gatchaman Universe Guest Starring Gambit (Non-mutant)</p>
<p>Unfortunately last updated in November 1998 :_:</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Following the Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> You can blame Daniel Rush for the inspiration. He's the one who first mentioned putting Gambit into the Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman universe as a sixth member of the KNT and fired my imagination on the Gatchaman Mailing List **way** back in August 1997. We exchanged e-mails and I proposed a story which describes the KNT's first encounter with a Master Thief known as Gambit...
> 
> Unfortunately, my last input from Dan on this piece was in November 1997. {I will get you for this, Dan. {grin}} I already put too much thought behind it to toss it on my discard pile, so I'm writing it now.
> 
> The story line still follows the basic structure I mapped out when Dan and I first started this, but I changed quite *a lot* of elements between November 1997 and now. I'm also playing around with the idea of different spoken languages in this piece.
> 
> I admit now that I'm rather useless at writing a mischievous Jinpei, I am more comfortable with writing him as an older boy, like I do in Ravens. But Dan set the tone for Jinpei's character, so I'm just following through as best as I can.
> 
> If there are no objections Dan, I am claiming ownership of this universe now.
> 
> Daniel Rush named this piece and provided the location for the story. Information on the Escillis poison was also provided by Dan. Lucien David and Jintaro Cain belong to Daniel Rush. Andre and the concept of International Guilds in this Gatchaman Universe came from me, as does this particular use of Gambit. ^_~
> 
> Hope this is fun read.
> 
> Key:  
> { … } Conversation in Japanese  
> #…# Thoughts  
> " … " Conversation in English  
> {{…}} Conversation in French  
> ~…~ Conversation in memory flash back  
> [ … ] Conversation through electronic media

{Guard duty! Again! How much more can we take of this, Sister?!}

Jun sighed as she took her eyes off the entourage to glance at her little brother.

{It's requisite of us, Jinpei. We don't question orders.}

She left unsaid the concern the ISO expressed on the rumor that UN Secretary General President Jintaro Cain was marked for death during this visit. Jun could understand her brother's restlessness. As infiltration and combat specialists, the Kagaku Ninjatai were not commonly called upon for guard duty. But Chief Anderson had personally asked for their involvement. And that sealed their 'doom'.

They had nothing against the President. The team would admit to being fond of the portly old man. It was the interminable waiting and observation which grated on their nerves. Joe had cursed a blue streak on the entire journey to join the entourage. Jun was surprised that Jinpei had held out as long as he had, so she was ready to deal with his whining.

Jinpei made a rude noise.

{Yeah, yeah... and since Anderson said 'please' and used the hang-dog-look on Ken, he couldn't say 'no'. Well, then why couldn't we be traveling in his company? We'd be in a better position to protect him.}

Jun quickly stifled her laugh at a mental image of Anderson actually using a hang-dog-look to issue his orders. {Not to mention 'comfortable' since his entourage is staying at the best hotels in the areas?}

{We're staying in dirt bag motels, eating god knows what and Ken expects us to be alert and fit for any attacks?}

Jinpei blew a raspberry as Jun turned her attention back to the gathering.

{We're here incognito. And *we* hardly look the sort to be included as bodyguards or even aides to the president. Now be quiet. We're suppose to be guarding them.}

Jinpei muttered under his breath as he took a position at another window and settled down for another boring evening of watch.

#It isn't fair,# he thought to himself.

The visit was through Normandy Beach, Cannes, before it rounded up in Marseilles and they did not have any free time to visit any of the local sights or even catch a glimpse of the famed French beauties.

It wasn't like they couldn't have afforded the time to do a bit of their own sightseeing. Ken didn't have to be such a tight ass about this guard duty.

As Jinpei continued to work himself up for a miserable watch, a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned his attention away from the UN crowd to look towards a block of high rise apartments.

And there it was again. Jinpei shook his head for a moment, wondering if he only imagined seeing a shape darker than the shadows it was in.

{Sister, I'm going off for a moment. I thought I saw something.}

{Jinpei, we're suppose--}

{I can take care of myself, Sister. Look, what if it's an assassin?}

{Let me call--}

{Oh, come on! This guard duty thing is boorrrrinnnnggg, let me have a bit of fun. Please? Pleeeaaaassseee.} He pursed his lips and pouted.

{Just you remember to yell for help,} Jun hissed under her breath. {If you get yourself killed, I swear--}

{Hey, you're talking to the *Great* and *Mighty* Swallow Jinpei. Can't touch this!}

With those last words, Jinpei disappeared into the shadows.

*~*~*~*~*

Jinpei flew down the flights of stairs quickly, walked out of the side lobby door and into the street. Cautiously, he moved to the corner of the building and stopped to lean against the wall.

#Those dudes sure weren't regular security. No one's supposed to leave their post. But if they're assassins, why are they leaving? I'd hate to call a false alarm on this, everyone would want my head! On a silver platter... roasted... with pine nuts... and served with mint sauce... yuck.#

He decided to turn the corner and walk down the street, just to play it safe.

#They seem to be heading for those apartments two blocks down. I'll just act like a local kid and play my way to the front door.#

A rusty can in a gutter became a good distraction. Jinpei played with it between his feet until he neared the building he wanted to check out.

The can flew up and landed in his left hand. #Now let's see what trouble I can find or get myself into.# He edged into the alley of the building in front of his target and waited expectantly for the arrival of the figures he had observed.

He just caught himself from releasing a startled cry as a dark shape materialized in the alley beside the apartment. #Where did he--?#

The figure paused for a moment in the shadows of the building. There was a slight gleam in the shadows as he appeared to flash a smile, apparently laughing to himself at some private joke.

#Get real, Swallow. Haven't seen enough of 'the shadow' to guess if it's a girl or a guy.# Jinpei muttered to himself as the figure retreated back into the shadows. # 6' 2"... on the lean side, long hair... But that wasn't who I sa--hello? Well speak of the devil. Here come the three stooges.#

He hissed silently as they passed close enough for him to recognize their garb. #Red? It's the wrong color, but they're Galactor assassins! For sure! Wait a minute? I thought they'd be after Cain?#

Jinpeu chewed on his lower lip as the three maroon clad assassins faded into the alley after 'the shadow'. A war raged within him. Should he go after them or return to the delegation? Why weren't these assassins after Cain? Why abandon their original target to come after this 'shadow?' Who was 'the shadow' that he'd rate having the assassins drop their original target to come after him?

He was supposed to be guarding Cain. Any other activity would be a distraction. What if there were more than two teams of assassins? But... could he turn his back now? Wasn't it tantamount to abetting a murder, if he could have prevented it and he didn't?

#Awww, screw Cain, he has four ninjas and a battalion watching his back.# Jinpei left the alley and tracked after the four figures. #I'm all that this guy's got.#

He briefly contemplated activating his bird style, but decided against it. The Galactors weren't supposed to know that the Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman were about.

That thought made him stop in his tracks. If he continued after the strangers, he would soon be out of earshot of the team. His sister would begin to worry if he did not return soon.

He couldn't even call her. Ken ordered a strict radio silence to keep their presence undetected. Other then his brief daily conference with Nambu, which he took in the secured Phoenix, they weren't allowed to use their wrist-coms unless it was an emergency.

Jinpei was torn. If he continued after the strangers, he might endanger their mission. Jun was sure to fret about his absence and that would attract Ken's attention to his delinquen--

{Oh, to hell with it! It's not like Ken and Joe never disappeared on us when the mission called for it before.} #Right Swallow, but this is just boring guard duty. What *real* reason is there for you to leave your post? Your mission is to watch over Cain's safety, *not* look for Galactor bases--# {Damn! I'm going! And I *will* be back before they notice that I'm gone.}

With that last assurance to himself, Jinpei hurried to catch up with the shadows.

#Ol' 'shadow' must be an idiot.# He thought to himself as he easily followed the trail. #He has to know there's someone following, why not head for the lighted areas?#

"Salut! Mes ami, y' t'ink y' c'n collect on de contract, neh?" The clear tenor voice reached him from beyond the shadows.

Jinpei skidded to a halt, startled by how close that sounded to him. It took him a moment to realize that the words weren't directed at him. He strained his eyes to squint ahead of him. #Damn! Either these jokers have exceptional night vision, or they're wearing infrared goggles.#

"You should have stay in the lighted areas, Gambit. Or did you get lost in our fine alleys?"

"Please, I have a reputation and a standard t' uphold."

#Either this guy's suicidal or he must know his stuff.# A grin touched Jinpei's lips, which he was sure was probably mirrored on the stranger's lips as well. #Maybe I'll just hang back and watch a while.#

"That reputation ends here!"

A gentle chuckle greeted these words of bravado.

The alley opened into a small courtyard. Jinpei moved forward cautiously and went to ground behind a bunch of trashcans, near the mouth of the courtyard. From there, he'd have a good view of the proceedings and could choose to get involved if matters went south.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he got his first good look at the man the assassins had called Gambit. He stood in the middle of the courtyard, casually smoking a cigarette as the three assassins stalked him.

The light of the cigarette threw some illumination on his fine chiseled jaw line, which was covered with a five o'clock shadow. He wore a simple, utilitarian cut black body suit, with a midnight blue tunic, excellent for blending into the shadows. Jinpei guessed that they would also be reinforced with some sort of armor. But what grabbed his attention was the most disconcerting and out-of-place piece of his attire.

#What's he--He's wearing a trenchcoat?! How the hell do you fight in a bulky trenchcoat?# Jinpei's expression was incredulous. #Yeah right, some folks wonder how we fight with wings, but at least we can *control* them to keep out of the way. Unless he has a way to ditch it quick, how the hell is he going to fight wearing a trenchcoat?#

"Dis be y' last night, Gambit."

"Mon frere, if I had a penny f' every time I have heard dat, I would be a rich man." He threw them a shit-eating grin as the smoke from his cigarette curled and eddied around him.

"Then let this be the last time, Gambit." The assassin waved his hand in front of him as if to emphasize the point. "Go with God!"

Before the end of his words came out, a black throwing dagger launched from his wrist.

Jinpei held back his whistle of surprise as a Bo materialized in Gambit's hand. The telescoping spring assisted his back flip and carried him neatly beyond the target area. #Nice... an acrobat. But in a trenchcoat?#

The movement, however, did not end there as a fan of five ordinary playing cards seemingly appeared in his hand. Even as he landed with all the aplomb of a cat, they were thrown at the assassin leader with a flick of the wrist. The man screamed in a spray of vitreous humor and blood.

Although he was used to violence, Jinpei cringed as the assassin leader fell. Out of the fight from the shock of the injury, if not dead from the gash across the jugular. The violence was not lost on the two remaining assassins.

"Pup, y' should have been better trained. Y' never trust one trick alone, n'est-ce pas?" The man the assassins called Gambit settled into a combat crouch after a twirl of his Bo. "Now... your move, mes braves."

Jinpei stayed silent as they attack at once. The one to Gambit's left tried a direct attack, his long blade thrusting forward and straight for the heart. The one on the right whirled in for a flanking movement, hoping to catch him between them. They would have stood a better chance, if they had reached him simultaneously.

Gambit's Bo caught the first assassin's arm in a twist lock and snapped it before the knife could get inside his guard. Almost as an afterthought, his other arm chopped viciously on the other assassin's wrist, making him drop his knife. A sideswipe kick to the head finished him off. All this while Gambit's Bo was still locked around the first assassin's broken arm. That matter was not left unattended as the hapless assassin was thrown against the wall beside his unfortunate accomplice.

#Huff... What am I doing here? Looks like this guy can handle himself just fine!# Jinpei pouted, disappointed that he was just cheated of a chance to enter the mix. #Ahhh. If it's over, I may as well get back to guard duty. If I'm lucky, I could make it back before Ken notices I'm gone. If not... well, Ken would be interested to hear about this, so--#

Suddenly a glint of light caught his eye from a building across the way. A glint which did not go unnoticed by Gambit.

#Oh shit!# Jinpei hissed softly as the air came alive with flying steel darts and the soft sounds of falling bodies. He didn't have to worry about the shadow though, Gambit was moving before the rain of darts came anywhere near. The two assassins he had disabled, however, were not as lucky.


	2. Alive with Assassins

"Gambit."

"Maurice, old enemy." Gambit stood casually as the courtyard swiftly filled with assassins. "Dese y' own apprentices?" He clucked, sounding disappointed. "Y' standard's dropped, mon frere. 'Sides, what y' doin' here? Not t' get ol' Gambit."

"'Kill if you get a chance', homme. Gambit is always on de list."

"But not an active hit. Why y' here?"

"Not y' luck tonight, Remy. Wrong place... wrong time... Assassins after dat UN President, but we c'n find him anytime. Gambit... not so easy t' track. No hard feelings, Remy. Y' understand?"

"Dis t'ing 's old as de Guilds. Still, how do de English say it... dis an overkill? Or are y' expecting Gatchaman t' appear?"

"Y' worried, Remy?"

"Non, Maurice, y' should know better. Y' jus' tres outnumbered. Dis all y' got?"

Jinpei's eyes widened. #Is he looney? Three was easy, thirteen's way too unfair!# He drew a set of clackers from his pocket.

"Outnumbered?! Y' have spirit, Gambit! I admire that in a dead man. Take hi--!"

Maurice's words ended in a strangled choke as Jinpei's clackers encircled his neck, crushing his windpipe. The assassins turned their attention away from Gambit for just a moment as their leader fell behind them.

"What de--"

"It seems you might need a bit of help." Jinpei landed among the confused assassins and threw a quick punch into one man's sternum, driving his fist into the heart. He followed up with a jumping roundhouse kick that sent the dying man flying into five assassins, knocking them off their feet.

Gambit took the pause to his advantage as well as a sweep of his Bo knocked the dart guns out of the assassin's hands.

"Hope you don't mind, thirteen against one didn't seem too good."

Cards flew through the air, slicing into hands and making the targets drop their firearms.

"Pourquoi? Y' de suspicious sort? Thirteen is one o' my lucky numbers. But... I don't look a gift horse in de mouth, petite."

"Hey! Don't call me little one! I--am--not--little!" Jinpei punctuated each word with a fist, arm, knee, or foot into vital anatomies of the hapless assassins.

Gambit laughed as his Bo snapped the neck of an assassin, even as his foot crushed the windpipe of another one.

"Y' good, cher. What y' called?"

"Jinpei. And they called you 'Remy'?"

"Oui. So y' enjoy de show?"

"You knew I was hiding?"

"Y' should 'ave put down dat old can, cher. Hard t' miss y' when dere be a glint in de shadows," he laughed, "*If* y' know what t' look out f', y' c'n spot anythin'. I been on de list too long, Still alive 'cause I'm careful."

"A 'Kill if you get a chance' list? What on earth did you do?"

"Dat would be tellin', cher."

"Awww, come on. Really."

"I've been around... Den... some'll say it's cause I killed a man an' some folks took offense t' it. Y' decide f' y'self, neh?"

"Here's to living dangerously."

An observer couldn't say which infuriated the assassins more. Their inability to lay a hand on their two erstwhile 'prey,' or their prey's nonchalant conversation as the assassins fell to the skilled strikes.

The battle was fast, furious, and short. Just what Jinpei was used to. He took out the last assassin by splitting his legs, dropping to the ground and punching the poor guy in the privations. The sickened assassin dropped his blade into the palm of Jinpei's waiting hand, to have it returned hilt first into his temple.

Remy smiled as Jinpei tossed the knife away. The tall man walked over to run his fingers through Jinpei's long hair.

"Excellente! Indeed y' are a fine Cockerel, Monsieur Jinpei."

"What did you call me?"

"I'm saying y' are a fighting rooster, which is a good compliment for you, mon ami." His laughing hazel red eyes twinkled at the boy.

Jinpei couldn't help but grin back. But Jinpei's impish smile didn't stay on his face for very long. From a dark corner of the courtyard, something flickered ominously and a black blade came flying straight at Remy's back.

"Look out!" Jinpei pushed Remy down by his shoulder as he leaped over the man to try to catch the blade.

Remy heard the boy's gasp as he rolled away to land back on his feet in a ready crouch. His eyes scanned the area looking for the missed assassin, but the man wisely and quickly retreated. The thief cursed under his breath, they had to get that assassin before he roused the Guild.

"Oow, that's one sharp knife."

Remy swung to face him, the assassin forgotten in the face of this development. Jinpei looked up from his bleeding hand to stare at the sick fear that suddenly filled the man's face.

"What's wrong? It's only a cut? Is--isn't it?" A wave of nausea enveloped him.

Remy swore as he reached down to tear the sleeve off one of the dead assassins and move swiftly to Jinpei's side to tie a tourniquet around his arm.

"If only! De Assassins put poison on dere knives, Cockerel. A nick c'n kill. Y' listen t' me, good. Try not t' move. We don' want de poison t' circulate too fast." Remy held the arm against his side. "We got t' reach m' safe house, I c'n make de antidote dere."

"Wha--?" Jinpei blinked at him as he stood in the courtyard clutching his bloody hand. He felt vertigo starting to seep into his suddenly numbed mind. "What's--happening to--"

Remy picked him up in his arms and started to run. "Don't waste y' energy, Cockerel. I'll take care o' you. M' bike's not far."

"What kind--"

"Escillis."

Jinpei could feel his blood turn colder. He remembered hearing of that poison. It promised death in 2 hours or less. But he couldn't remember there being a antidote for it. A seed of fear started to pound in his heart.

"Don't be scared, cher. It send de poison racing in y' veins. Calm down, I know o' a antidote. M' nanny taught me how t' make it 'fore I left de Big Easy. Y' trust Remy now."

*~*~*~*~*

**22 Minutes**

Remy let him puke his guts out before he settled the boy in front of him on the bike and tore down the streets.

"Y' hold on now, y' hear me, boy? De hospital cannot help y' an' m' house not in de city. We jus' 20 minutes away. C'n y' hang in dere, boy?"

"D--do--don't call--me--boy. I'm--old--enough--"

"Shhh, save y' breath, little man."

The bike screamed through the silent streets. But those streets weren't silent for very long. Remy cursed as he saw a car turn out of a street after him.

"Cockerel, y' got t' be brave now. We got us a tail. An we got t' lose it before we head f' m' chateau. A safe house no use t' us if de assassins attack us 'fore we get y' well again, d'accord?"

"Wha--what?"

"We gotta take de scenic route t' lose our tail, Cockerel." Remy held back his curse as he glanced into the side mirror and saw another two cars appear behind them. "C'n y' hold on?"

"Yes."

*~*~*~*~*

**53 minutes**

Remy could feel the boy shivering against him. They'd finally lost their tail three blocks back. He cursed himself as he took another three turns, just to be sure. He couldn't risk having the assassins pounce on them while he made the antidote. The boy would be dead for sure if he had to fight off the assassins first.

"We goin' t' Remy's chateau now, Cockerel. Y' still with me?"

"Yes." Jinpei's voice was so soft, Remy almost missed hearing it over the roar of the bike.

*~*~*~*~*

**1 hour 8 minutes**

Remy cradled Jinpei in his arms as he leaped off the bike, letting the machine slide to a halt of its own volition in the driveway. The boy was burning up against him as he momentarily fumbled with the door.

"Ca-can't--Aniki? I--can't--feel--Aniki--?"

Remy could hear the fear in the boy's voice as he dashed up the stairs three steps at a time. A kick slammed open the door to the room and he lay the pale boy on the bed.

"Aniki? Onechan? I-I-I'm sca--"

"Gonna be all right, Cockerel. Y'll see. Remy know what t' do."

"Remy? Wha--?" A dark shape appeared at the door.

"Escillis, Andre! Any o' de staff know ho--"

"Non. None o' us steady enough wit--" The figure gasped in shock.

"Den keep dem out o' m' way. Alert de Grand Master!"

The shadow at the door quickly disappeared as Remy continued to rummage through an ancient chest, pulling out various bags of herbs and poultices. "Jinpei! Come on, Cockerel, talk t' Remy. Y' try t' continue talking now. Remy don' know how fast dis poison affecting y'."

But the figure had turned silent on him.

"Cockerel?" Remy started throwing measured portions of herbs and liquid into the urn. "Come on, talk t' me! Boy?!"

The instant rejoinder telling him not to call him 'boy' did not emerge. Remy cursed as he mashed the herbs and ran to the kitchen with the urn to put it over an open flame.

"Been only 1 hour 14 minutes! He's jus' a boy--non, a little man. Tante Mattie, this Cajun sure hope he remember y' teachings right. Dis de first time he make dis wit' out y' supervision since he left de Big Easy."

Remy impatiently watched the potion simmer as he stirred in a measured motion, willing it to change color to signify its readiness. He didn't dare leave it or turn the fire too high. It had to be just right. Heated too long or too fast and the potion would be unusable; agitated too much or too little and the potion's effectiveness would be lost and he'd have to start again. He didn't think he had the luxury of time for a second try.

After what seemed like an eternity of stirring and heating, the green finally faded to the right shade of brown. Remy carefully poured the thickened potion into a handy mug and carried it back to the room; Blowing on it all the while to try to bring down the temperature.

#Cockerel ain't gonna like it if Remy burn his throat t' save his life.#

*~*~*~*~*

**1 hour 24 minutes**

Remy pushed the boy into a seated position resting against his shoulder. One hand supported his jaw and mouth as the other hand rested the mug against his lips.

Remy's jaw tightened when he noted that the evil smelling potion didn't generate any reaction from Jinpei's face. Gently, he poured a little of the potion into Jinpei's mouth and placed the mug down again. His hand gently stroked the throat.

"Slowly, Cockerel, swallow. Swallow, Remy don't want t' end up drowning y' either. Come on, swallow dis f' Remy." He whispered in his ear. "Swallow, Jinpei. Please swallow, Jinpei."

Jinpei's Adams apple bobbed in an almost imperceptible motion. Remy almost cried in relief as he reached for the mug again. Little by little, the potion went down. After an agonizing eternity, which lasted only ten minutes, the last of the potion was swallowed.

*~*~*~*~*

**1 hour 39 minutes**

Remy lay down the empty mug and lowered the boy back into the bed. A maid entered the room with a basin of water and a face towel. Remy took the basin and towel from her and waved her away.

As he wiped the pale face with the cool towel, Remy mused over the last two hours. Two hours ago, he had never set eyes on the boy. Now he was praying that he managed to save his life.

"How do y' always do dis t' y'self, Remy? Dis why y' take y' jobs alone... so y' don't have t' care 'bout anyone else. How did dis happen t' y'? Sick boy in y' bed... Could be dying, an' it's y' fault. Y' don' e'en know de boy, so why do y' even care?! Someone laughing at y' now, Remy."

If the boy lived, it was going to be a long night. But to his own surprise, Remy didn't mind. He would welcome it. He turned to look at the clock...

*~*~*~*~*

**1:00 a.m.**  
Museum Wharf, Port of Marseilles

Joe returned from his swift survey of the wharf area to where the rest of the team had gathered. Jun could already tell by his face what he had found... nothing.

{It's just like that kid to go off on his own. Thinks he's a one man army all the time!}

Ken's look silenced Joe before he said any more. Jun wasn't even aware of the concerned look the two exchanged as they turned towards her.

{Where did he go the last time you saw him, Jun?} Ken asked her gently.

{H-h-he said he saw a movement of shadows in a side street next to the hotel. God knows... I should have leashed him. Once he gets the thought of doing something by himself...} She stopped in frustration.

Ken studied Jun's face for a moment before he turned to Joe and Ryu. {I'll take care of things here. Joe, check back behind the hotel and along the streets. Ryu, start checking the other 'usual' places.}

That made Jun jump in sudden shock. {The hospitals...}

{Jun, go back to the motel. We'll take care of this.} Ken caught her arm before she could bolt. {If he comes back, I want you there to talk to him instead of me. If I find him, I'm gonna chew his ass real good for this little stunt.}

Jun didn't like the idea of being excluded, but Ken was right. With the responsibilities of undercover security weighing heavily on him, Ken already had enough on his mind without Jinpei pulling a disappearance on them. Ken was letting her warn Jinpei first before the boy faced his commander.

Joe stole a glance at Ken's tight expression before he set off. This was one of the many times he didn't envy Ken's position as their commander. Sometimes a fine line stood between his treating them as soldiers and as his friends and family. They all knew of Jinpei's displeasure at missing out on the various attractions in the President's tour. But for Jinpei to pull a stunt like this...

They all knew that Ken hated enacting the law of the military on them. He would close an eye when he could, but at a time like this... Joe knew that Ken understood the boy's restlessness, but he would still have to punish Jinpei for leaving his post without reporting in.

They all prayed that Jinpei would turn up soon with a satisfactory explanation for his disappearance. Ken was agreeable enough to sending the others out to search for Jinpei while he handled the final watch alone. But he wasn't going to be light on Jinpei, if it turned out the boy was just being irresponsible.


	3. To be a Thief

Jinpei found himself alternately surrounded by warmth, escalating to burning heat and back again. The swirling mists kept him in a tight hold which he felt too weak to break. At sometime he screamed... or did he cry? He wasn't sure. He was afraid.

He cried softly now, he didn't care that anyone could see him show his fear. Escillis! Death in two hours. No mercy... no reprieve... Death.

He didn't want to die. He was away from--from--from who? Someone who usually took care of him... wiped his fevered face when he was sick... Who sat by his bedside when he was hurt... Who? Mother? No--she was gone a long time ago. At this thought, he felt tears fill his eyes. She was dead. He was alone. No one loved him... He felt a cool, wet cloth on his face. There was someone with him! He felt his breast swell with relief. A soft voice enveloped him. He was loved! He was cared for. It was--a man? Who?

"A--a--aniki?"

{Here, Jinpei.}

Jinpei? His name--yes that's right. That was *his* name. And the man was his brother. He wasn't abandoned, he had family. But weren't there suppose to be more of them?

{Rest... sleep... You'll be all right soon enough. The fever's broken. Sleep, I will protect you.}

The suffocating heat was gone... only cool blackness surrounded him. Dream...

*~*~*~*~*

Silent as a shadow, Joe approached the row of gargoyles overlooking the courtyard of the hotel. Artfully blended among them was a white winged figure that knelt just as still as those stone guardians. Joe knew Ken wasn't going to be happy with his report.

{Nothing, Condor?} Ken's voice drifted to him as he remained unmoving on the ledge.

{No.} Joe tried to keep annoyance out of his tone. He was so sure that he hadn't made a sound on his approach. It was downright eerie that Ken's awareness of his surroundings seemed to border on the supernatural.

{Step down and take a rest. Come back in another 5 hours.}

Joe felt tired, but he still hesitated at the command. Ken had let him and Ryu search the city while he remained on watch through the last 32 hours. Jun had tried to maintain her professionalism, but they knew that she was much too distraught over Jinpei's disappearance to give her complete attention to the mission. All this meant that Ken had to compensate for the absence of nearly the entire team on the watch.

To Joe, Ken's activation of his bird style was significant. As well as offering him greater personal security, the bird style also let him move easier and flit through the shadows in almost complete silence. It also added to the danger of the Kagaku Ninjatai's presence being detected, but Ken must have accepted the risk in favor of the advantages the bird style gave him over their ordinary street wear.

{Ken, I can take the watch now. You need to rest too.}

{You and Ryu have been moving through the city for the whole day. I've only been standing and watching a finite area. You need the rest more than I do.}

Joe winced at the tone. It was Gatchaman's 'command voice', as they had come to call it. The tone which Ken would use on contentious issues when he came to his decisions. A tone that Ken seldom used, but when he did use it, he brooked no argument to his orders. Joe knew that this was going to be Ken's only outward expression that Jinpei's disappearance was grating on his nerves too.

{Go. You're wasting your rest time.}

There was no further use for him to stay. Joe cast one last look over the city before he left his commander to return to the Motel.

#Jinpei, where *are* you?! Damn it kid, if you're not in trouble somewhere, you just screwed up big time!#

*~*~*~*~*

Jinpei finally stirred and yawned as he stretched in the bed.

#It still can't be night. I've been sleeping all night?# he wondered as he looked around the pitch black room.

Then little details started to register. There were heavy drapes over the windows. A glimmer at the edges told him that it was a lot later than he thought. The room wasn't familiar... where was he?

"How y' feel, Cockerel?"

Jinpei swung his head sharply towards the voice and started cursing immediately. His head still throbbed, but the pounding quickly eased. He gingerly opened his eyes again to squint at the man who sat in the chair beside the bed.

"Geez, I think I feel better than you look... Remy?"

"Oui. Dat's good, Cockerel. Y' remember." He chuckled as he drew a hand down the stubble on his chin. "Y' t'ink y' want t' get up?"

"How--how long?"

"Day an' a half. This de second morning after we met."

"Aren't I suppose to be dead?"

"Y' want t' be, mon ami?"

Jinpei could sense the tight laughter in the voice. It must have been close. A chill ran down his spine. He scurried out of the sick bed and reached for the clothes that had been thoughtfully washed and laid out for him on another chair.

Remy lent him an unobtrusive hand on the arm to walk to the door and out into the bright corridor.

"Salut! So de Prince, he finally decide t' grace dis humble company wit' his presence, neh?" An old man looked up as they started down the stairs. "Bien, de boy finally walks."

Jinpei's response was automatic. "I'm not a boy! I'm man enough to take on anything."

The white-haired veteran raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything to dispute the claim. He only eyed his other charge critically.

"Look at y', chille. Like somethin' de cat dragged in an' spat on. Y' gettin' older dan Andre, Remy. Can' handle stayin' up f' two nights? How y' gonna be a thief?"

"Y' sound more like an old woman every day, Andre. Soon Tante Mattie ain't got nothin' on y' for spoilin' a chille."

In the bright light of the morning, Jinpei turned to get a good look at Remy. He barely withheld his gasp. Remy really looked awful and it wasn't just because he had stayed awake for over two days.

"Enough, come t' de kitchen. I have breakfast f' y'. I have de maids clean y' room and draw y' a bath, Remy. Den y' go straight t' bed. Y' hear me? Y' not too old I still can' take y' over my knee."

"Arret, Andre. Y' not my maman. Y' embarassin' me in front o' de Cockerel."

"*I* take care o' dis chateau, Remy. And dat includes de occupants. Or y' sayin y' want t' move out?"

"Maybe I should, t' get away from de 'old woman'."

"Y' not finished y' job, an' I know y' like de view o' de sea from de porch. No threat." Andre laughed at him as he ushered them into the kitchen. "Eat, eat. Y' pere t'ink I be starvin' y' if he see y' now."

The table looked as if it was groaning under the weight of the food. Jinpei was going to try his best to move that weight to a much more appreciative location. Remy was relieved to see this. If the boy was ready to eat, he was going to be fine.

{{You sent word down?}} Remy asked softly as he settled into a chair while Jinpei tucked healthily into a plate of bacon, ham, eggs, and croissants.

{{Escillis.}} Andre nodded grimly. {{Your father knows and the Assassins? The Grand Master, Marius, is not happy about this either.}}

{{When I saw the black scrap off the blade, I knew. All the assassins here have them, Andre. The Cockerel showed the classic symptoms. I knew it as soon as I saw his face when he got that cut. This isn't a simple warning or interference in their activities anymore, Andre. The Guilds cannot ignore this flouting of the treaty.}}

The old man studied Remy's grim expression of eagerness before he spoke. {{Remy, you did not know her.}}

Remy flushed at the statement, annoyed at how easily the old thief could hit the heart of the matter with such precision. {{*Someone* should have avenged her pain, Andre.}}

{{And so you decided that you would be the one to do this? You would wrap the Guild's covenant around an O'merta order? Gambit is not allowed to stoop to petty vengeance, Remy.}}

{{Call it what you may, Andre, the breaking of Guild rules demand that I destroy Lucian David. Some may say I'm carrying retribution a little beyond what is absolutely necessary... but don't worry about me, Andre, I promise you, I will keep my head.}}

{{Do you need help, Gambit? Marius is willing to lend you his trusted. We are willing to set aside the feud for this. This is too important.}}

{{No, it's best that I handle this alone. I don't want to be confused by allied Assassins. Be bad if I killed the wrong ones. Pass the word to my father and Marius that I can handle this on my own. If anything goes wrong, the Guilds are still protected.}}

"Excuse me! But isn't it rude to talk in front of another person without letting him know what's going on?"

The two men turned towards Jinpei guiltily.

"Je suis desole, Cockerel."

"Huh?"

"I said, 'I'm sorry', Cockerel. We just talkin' 'bout takin' y' back." Remy watched his face carefully, but Jinpei did not notice the lie. "Soon as y' ready, we go look f' y' friends, neh? Dey must be worried 'bout y." Remy reached over to tousle his hair. "I'll take y' back."

Remy held up his hand, silencing Andre's protests that he should rest first. "Y' remember where y' stay, Jinpei?"

Jinpei's hand trembled as he lowered his fork to lock eyes with the two men.

"I-I don't remember."

*~*~*~*~*

The Monistarial Entrebudanie. One could get a breathtaking view from this Cathedral atop the hill that commands all of Marseilles. But the sight this day was lost on a pair of green eyes.

{Apple?} Ken waved the fruit in front of Jun as she leaned against a statue in the Monastery venue.

She shook her head dully. Though she tried not to show it, they all knew that she hadn't slept well in the past two days from worry.

Ken bit into the apple and studied Jun for a while. He warred within himself with a decision he had to weigh against their responsibilities. He felt a certain amount of anger towards her little brother for being so irresponsible at times and putting her through hell.

{Hey, he'll be okay.} Ken reached over to touch her shoulder.

Jun's response caught him off guard as she turned towards him and wrapped her arms around him. Though it made him drop the apple, Ken held back his awkward rigidity at the body contact to wrap his arms around her in response to her need. She started crying on his shoulder, more out of exhaustion than fear.

He held her gently, offering what comfort he could in their closeness. It was at times like this that Ken could not deny the attraction and love he felt for the lithe figure in his arms, but he just couldn't allow himself to show it. Joe had talked to him about it before but... Fraternizing in the ranks was not only improper, it was also a court martial offense. At least Jun wasn't looking for that love now. He could push aside his feelings for another day... there was still the mission.

Gatchaman was professional enough to know he couldn't allow his feelings to take precedence over the importance of their mission. Duty demanded he forget Jinpei's indiscretion, consider it a desertion of post and re-deploy their forces to compensate. His heart told him otherwise.

Jinpei was a little brother to all of them, more so to Jun. She was a sister to him from the moment he first appeared at the orphanage. And Dr. Nambu had assured them that they would remain together when he applied to take them into his care. If anyone needed support at a time like this, she did. Cold military order wasn't what Jun needed now.

#Hell, you knew your decision before you even got here. Stop stalling and let her go look for him, Washio.#

{Jun, Joe and Ryu have already searched the city twice. He'll turn up. At least he's not in a hospital or jail right now.} He pushed her away gently and looked into her eyes. {I need you, girl, I need your expertise and I can't afford to watch you fall apart like this. I'm calling Joe and Ryu back and I want you to go around as a regular tourist, see what you can find.}

Jun tried to protest, but Ken cut her short. {Look, if I know that little wiseass, he's in a bakery somewhere stuffing his face with cream puffs. Either that or he's wandering around in a striped shirt and black tie posing as the French Kissing Bandit.} 

Jun exploded in laughter at the mental image. Ken gave her a good smirk as she gave him a punch in the chest. {And another thing? When's the last time you had a nice long bath?}

Jun pushed him back and gave Ken a reassuring smile as she left him standing alone, shaking his head.

{Jinpei, Jinpei, Jinpei... I'll say this much, you little shit, you really know how to play matchmaker.}

Ken wandered off to resume his guard, cherishing the lingering warmth of holding Jun in his arms. But it wasn't going to make things any easier on Ken when they finally caught up with Jinpei though. Ken dreaded the possible consequence he'd have to bring down on the kid.

#Damn you, Jinpei. You had better have a good reason for this stunt. Two days! I *can't* overlook this insubordination! What are you up to?!#

*~*~*~*~*

"What am I supposed to do out here?" Jinpei asked the old man as they walked towards one of buildings on the huge property.

"Y' said y' serious about dis, cher. Dis a test t' see if y' got de instincts dat will make y' worth teachin' t' be a thief. Y' pass, Remy agree to teach y'. Y' fail, maybe I just show y' some tricks instead... Maybe."

"Why isn't Remy here?"

"Cause Gambit has research t' finish in de city. He left de testing t' dis old thief." Andre's expression indicated his own displeasure over the situation.

"What's the test?"

"We already know y' can fight. So dis is a test t' see how good y' are at observation, an' how good y' are at usin' y' brain." Andre made a derisive snort, which Jinpei ignored.

They stopped in front of an old shack. At a cursory glance, Jinpei immediately noted that the door to the shack had a padlock on it and that the shack was raised off the ground by a foot.

"Now, tell me how t' break int' dis shack."

Andre's hand prevented him from moving closer.

"Y' not allowed t' approach it, homme. Y' can walk around it, but y' go no closer."

"Break the padlock."

"In a good pinch, de mark not supposed t' know until long after the pinch is done. No good."

"Well you could--"

"Dis is not a game of twenty questions, Cockerel. Y' s'pose t' use y'r brain! *Not* shoot off dat mouth."

"Look, how am I supposed to know how to break into something if I can't examine it, or get close to it."

"Y' t'ink de pinch just a game of trial and error?" Andre sneered at him, "Dat y' got de time t' waste trying different entrances, or dat a *true* thief will just bash de door down and steal from de mark?"

Jinpei kept his mouth shut.

"What y' think y' hav' t' do when y' faced wit' de blue prints o' a high security buildin', heh? Dere may be hundreds o' ways in and out, but maybe only three dat will not trip any alarms. Y' can't find y' entrances on de job, y' got t' plan dese t'ings out.

"Dis just a shack. Dere be three ways t' get int' dis shack wit'out leavin' any signs. Find them. When Gambit was a boy, he found a fourth. M' only asking y' t' give me de three obvious ones. If y' can' even carry out de simplest task, it no use t' teach y'!"

"Okay!"

Jinpei started to walk around the building, careful not to get any closer than Andre stipulated. Hell, it shouldn't be difficult, he was a trained ninja! He'd broken through tougher security than this.

Jinpei rocked back on his heels at the thought. He had? When was that? Why did he just call himself a ninja? The sound of Andre clearing his throat started him walking around the building again.

Why was Andre on his case? He had to concentrate, think things through. Jinpei let his eyes run over the shack in intense concentration. There was one window, latched from the inside... Yes! Jinpei turned to see what was beside it.

"Up the tree and through the window. It's a hook latch, if you use a bit of wire, you can unhook the latch and hook it back once you're done inside."

He was gratified to receive Andre's nod. That was easy, one down, two to go.

Jinpei walked around the building again. Only one window... there was something he was missing. Sweat started to bead on his face as he thought hard. His eyes took in everything, the flaking paint, the boards, the nails... Nails!

"Side board near the bushes has a crack in the seam. Could be loose enough to pry open and nail back later."

Jinpei received another nod. The last way in and it wasn't going to be as obvious.

Intense examination of the walls of the shack didn't given any more breaks. The one window had already been covered. Jinpei glanced at the bordering tree and received Andre's permission to climb up to see if there was a break on the roof.

Nothing.

Jinpei started to chew on his lower lip. He stared intensely at the padlock. No, it didn't look like it could be picked. In all probability, it was rusted tight. He'd break the lock before he could pick it.

There were four ways into the shack. He dismissed the possibility that he could easily find Remy's fourth way in. Jinpei was convinced that Remy's perceptions bordered on the supernatural. He still had a vague memory of two nights ago, when he was spying on a confrontation between Remy and the Assassins. Why he was there, he couldn't remember, but he knew he had hidden himself well in the shadows. He would probably have sworn that no one could have noticed him. Yet Remy had picked him out.

~"*If* y' know what t' look out f' y' c'n spot anythin'."~

#But, what *am* I looking for?!#

*~*~*~*~*

Andre's expression remained impressive as he watched the boy. Inwardly he was cursing Remy for his soft heart. They could have just dropped the boy back to where Remy first met him. But 'no', what if the assassins got to him first? They couldn't leave him wandering the streets and hope that his family discovered him before the revenge seeking assassins closed in on him.

#Pah, y' create trouble fer y'self in helping de boy, Remy. Y' should have taken care of dat last assassin first 'stead o' rushing t' help de boy. Now de whole o' Marseilles knows dat y' in de city.#

~"Andre, it's just a few days. Let me at least find out where his family is. I c'n drop him off in deir hands. It's no trouble."~ Remy's words came to him again.

In a way, that was right. What kind of trouble could a boy bring them anyway? Still, he was a distraction for them when it was better for Remy to concentrate on the adversity he faced.

The O'merta order... Andre couldn't believe how blind he was not to see it from the start. It would be so much like Remy to enact the O'merta for his predecessor... for a woman he did not know.

Andre could feel the twinge in his heart again. The years had done little to lessen the pain of the loss, or the outrage he had felt when the guild chose not to avenge her death. He had fled the city to retire at the chateau, disgusted by the politics which left her un-avenged. He tried not to think of the remarkable woman who was the last Gambit. But when he looked at Remy, he saw so much of her in the young man... In him, too, shone that special spark which earned him the right to take the title of Gambit.

Unbidden, Andre's thoughts drifted back to the conversation they had just as Remy was leaving for the city.

> ~{{Remy, this is foolishne--}}~
> 
> ~{{Though I never met her, I feel close to her, Andre. I can feel her spirit.}}~ Remy's words echoed in his mind again. ~{{You used to know her, Andre. Tell me, doesn't the crime cry out for vengeance?
> 
> ~{{Politics be damned, I am *guildles--*}}~
> 
> ~{{Your father only banished you from New O'rleans, Remy. You brought the severance of all ties upon yourself when you became Gamb--}}~
> 
> ~{{'Only'? You say 'only'?! Cast out of my home guil--}}~
> 
> ~{{Remy, your fathe--}}~
> 
> ~{{I know, Andre.}}~ Remy took a deep breath to calm himself and to stop the tears from gathering in his eyes again. ~{{He did it to protect me. But what did staying a member of the guild mean... when I am not allowed to venture anywhere near the family that I love, or the home of my heart, Andre? How can any punishment be greater than that?}}~
> 
> ~{{It pains him too, Remy. He does miss his little Prince.}}~
> 
> Remy's hand reached out to stroke the oiled leather of a black case that sat strapped to his Harley. ~{{As Gambit... I am free. I have no more fear of guild justice, Andre. And even if I did not have this contract, I doubt there will be any who will demand my punishment for this.}}~
> 
> ~{{Remy, you are not above the laws of the guild. You take too many chance--}}~
> 
> ~{{No, Andre. My contract was to discredit Lucien David and oust him as Guild Leader. Nothing was said about how I was to do this.}}~ Remy's hazel-red eyes had flashed at him in grim determination. ~{{I carry this title now, Andre. God rest her soul, I will avenge her. And no one need be any wiser.}}~

#You play a dangerous and lonely game, Remy. You can't let yourself be distracted by this one.# Andre shook himself out of his reverie to study the boy who stood in front of the shack. #One day, when you finally lay your own ghosts to rest, you will have a family, Remy. I just wish you would stop flirting with the lost causes. Even if this boy has no family, he will not stay... He is no thief, and you have little else to offer him.#

*~*~*~*~*

Jinpei stole a nervous glance back at Andre. The old man had said he might teach him if he failed the test. #Unlikely, he doesn't want me around. Anyway, I think I'd prefer Remy as the teacher. So think! Use your head! Your--ears!#

Jinpei closed his eyes and concentrated, he let his perceptions reach out. He tried to ignore the wind tickling his shirt. #Wind! That's the key.#

He listened, shut out all other senses and listened. He could hear the rustling leaves, the slight whistling of the wind through the closed window.

Through? Where did it come from then? Where did it find entry? The side board? No, it wouldn't be whistling that loud. There must be a larger entrance somewhere... There was a louder sound. Something he had almost dismissed because of the volume... Something quite big...

Jinpei's eyes flew open and he swung towards Andre. "There's a missing floor board? Climb under the shack and get in through the missing floor board!"

Andre almost looked disappointed as he gave him a curt nod, but Jinpei didn't care. He passed the test, now Remy would agree to be his teacher.

As if thinking of Remy evoked his presence, they heard the roar of a bike as it pulled into the driveway. Andre's hand caught Jinpei's shoulder before he could run for the house.

"Y' listen t' me, boy. An' y' listen good." Andre brushed off his attempt to protest. "When y' asked him t' be y' Master. I could see he wanted to, Cockerel. When he looked at y', I could read what he wanted most in his life. A son! A family! Y' become all o' dat t' him if y' let him. I rather he send y' t' de orphanage."

"No! I'll run away. I'll find my way back! I want to be a thief like Remy! I passed the test! You can't lie!" Jinpei yelled at him. "Why do you hate me?"

"I don', least not yet. Y've been trained, Cockerel. Man be blind t' miss dat. Y' skills not somethin' dat can be picked off de streets. Y' not a local kid. Y' look Japanese. Speak it too. Y' already got family!"

"No, I don't! I never had a father! My mother died!"

"When?"

"I don't remember, or maybe I just don't want to."

"Y'll leave him."

"No, I won't!"

"De path o' Gambit already lonely enough. When his pere had t' banish him from de Big Easy he came here first. Stayed drunk f' three days trying t' drown de pain, knowin' he c'n never go back t' his home. He traveled de world, didn' stay more dan a couplea months in each place. He pushed everyone away from him, t'inkin it be safer alone. Safer t' be wild and free, wit' no ties t' a home, no one t' love, no one t' worry about. We know dat's a lie, but least de pain dulled.

"Den y' come here and de pain come back... Den de longin' f' a family returned. But I t'ink y' come t' break his heart, boy."

"I won't hur--"

His words died in his mouth. Jinpei couldn't move, he was locked into those old gray eyes that seemed to drill into him.

"I love de boy, Cockerel. Love him as if he were my own son. I won't see him hurt, by y' or anyone else! Y' got me, homme! Y' swear t' me now. Y' swear t' me dat y' got no ties. Y' swear t' me by everything dat means anything t' y'."

Jinpei's jaw dropped at the vehemence behind the words.

Andre let him go. "If y' hurt de boy, Cockerel... I'm not an assassin, m' just an old thief. But I kill you."

"Andre." Jinpei took a deep breath. "Please believe me. I won't do anything to hurt Remy. I was rash when I jumped into the fight to help him, though he didn't need my help. It was my fault that I was poisoned. It was my fault that I nearly died and I'm sorry that I made Remy worry about me.

"He didn't have to, but he saved my life and took care of me. He's even offered to take me in even though he doesn't know me. I-I love him like a brother I have never had, Andre. I love him and I won't ever see him hurt."

Andre's face finally softened as he studied the boy. "I believe you, Cockerel. Remy, he easy t' love. He just don't know it an' he just can' accept it."

They walked back to the house together.

"Andre? What was the fourth way in, that only Remy found?"

A sheepish grin spread over the old man's face as he thought about it. "I always had a padlock on dat shack, Cockerel. Never opened it. Always used de other three other ways t' get in an' out... jus' for practice, y' know. Keep the ol' bones from goin' brittle. Used dat shack so long, I missed de most obvious an' simplest of de methods."

"And?"

"Didn't notice dat de hinges on de latch rusted off a long time ago. If y' put some oil on the door hinges, y' can just swing de door open."


	4. A walk through Marseilles

Jun was feeling 100% better than she did a couple of hours earlier. A faint smile touched her lips as her hands brushed the long skirt she wore. Sometimes, Ken could amaze her. She had earlier stared in shock at the shopping bags on her bed, with a complete ensemble for her to change into. There was even a note from Ken, telling her to try to blend in with the crowd with the clothes he bought for her (probably with Hakase's credit card.)

Joe and Ryu had also contributed to her gifts with fragrant bath salts and some craft jewelry. They were worried about her and it touched her heart that they'd go to so much trouble to try to make her feel better.

A long soak in a fragrant bath and dressing up in her new finery did cheer her up, but her thoughts still sat with her brother. It wasn't easy drifting through the beauty of French Corsica without wondering where and what Jinpei had gotten himself into.

He was always independent and dependent, the changing nature of little boys who get too big for their britches at times. She sometimes wanted to leave him alone since he could handle himself. Then that boyish insecurity would creep in and he'd be clinging to her, looking for restoring and reassuring love.

She also thought about the trip itself. Jinpei was right about not being able to visit the sights of France. They passed by Omaha Beach, where so many men gave their lives to defeat the evils of Hitler, the German madman. They barely spent one day at the rich city of Cannes. Now here they were in Marseilles, seat of Corsican wealth... and the Corsican Mafia.

The Corsican Mafia... She had read a little about them in the book 'The French Connection.' They were a bad set of characters indeed. There were persistent rumors that the Corsicans killed American President John Kennedy in 1963; Olof Palmer of Sweden, in 1984. Stories about them had faded into obscurity for a long time. Then Ambassador Greerson of the UN had died of suspicious circumstances last year, and the rumors began again.

Jun stopped by a roadside cafe. As she took a cup of hot French mocha in her hands and sipped it, the logic began to work. #Could they be involved in a death threat against Cain?#

Slowly, she continued to walk down the cobblestone streets towards the fishing wharves along the harbor, the thoughts still running through her mind.

Some fishermen gave her appraising looks as she passed. Jun just grinned at the wolf whistles that followed her as she slipped down the next street, camera in hand, looking in all the world like a typical tourist. But it was all a facade, her mind was whirling with conspiracy theories and crime mythology.

Nambu's briefing had been terse about the Corsican Mafia. In fact, he would not have made any mention of it if Jinpei had not brought it up.

> ~{The Corsican Mafia is long dead. End of question.}~

When it was still around, the Corsican Mafia were spoken of like a legend. Very little was known about it and most of the knowledge was unofficial. The local police dare not take too great an interest. They were in control of much of France and Europe for decades.

Then there was that great bust of 2006. Interpol had slammed down on them. Making arrests, and making them stick. A bust which seemed almost reminiscent of that made by the fictional Lt. Popeye Doyle in 'The French Connection.' Their power was crippled, if not destroyed. What remained of the crime families tried to rally together, but petty rivalry, jealousy and distrust soon made that empire crumble even further. It was thought to have finally dissolved and stories of the families soon retreated into legend.

But what if all that had only been a sham? What if... the Mafia had managed to preserve their existence in secrecy? A chill started to close its fingers around her heart.

Even in the old stories, it was whispered that the Corsican Mafia produced some of the finest assassins in the world. That branch of the Mafia was always shrouded in mystery and secrecy. They were thorough, efficient... deadly. It was whispered that their assassins made it a game to kill their marks as they slept beside their spouse; leaving the murder undetected until the morning.

In all probability, if even one branch of the Corsican Mafia survived, it would be the Assassins.

"Cain." Jun breathed sharply as the thought struck her.

They had received rumors of outside involvement in the contract on the UN Secretary General's life. What if these assassins were the ones Katse hired to kill him? What if Jinpei had really foiled an attempt by the assassins? What if he was with them now? A prisoner, unable to free himself, or call for help? What if he was--if he was already--dead? Was it that difficult to hide a body? Especially one as small as--

Jun almost reached up to slap herself. She stopped short of the act as she recalled her presence in a public place.

#I will not think down that line. I'll drive myself crazy. Ken's right, I'm falling apart with paranoia.

#Assassins.# She snorted mentally. #If they are as good as legend, Cain would already be dead. It's been so quiet... it's actually boring. Maybe that's all it was, an idle threat. We've never known Galactor to be so insidious as to wait on their threat to kill anybody.#

Galactor never operated by half measures. They thrived on publicity and propaganda. The night Jinpei disappeared would have been the best time for the hit or at least some flaunting of their skills. Public place... plenty of delegates... security at the max, with a small army literally surrounding the hotel one block deep.

An 'incident' on that night would have made the strongest statement of the entire tour. But Cain still lived, unharmed and unmolested. There wasn't even a hint of an attack.

#Ken's right, Jinpei's probably out somewhere in this beautiful city, eating croissants and rubbing shoulders with the locals.# She lifted her head and pushed back her shoulders defiantly. #He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. It's not like Ken and Joe have never taken off on their own, without telling the rest of us.

#I have faith in his own ability to take care of himself,# she huffed, #It'll be just like him to do this anyway.# A smile crept over her lips as she toyed with the idea. #We both know Ken well enough, that he'd send me out on pretext as a tourist. It gives us *all* a chance to have a good look around the city.

#That little twerp! At the end of all this, I'll bet he'll throw us a curve, something like 'I hit my head and had amnesia. *Honest*, didn't know who I was for days.'#

Jun started to giggle to herself. Oh, she wanted so much to believe that. She started a skipping step, in the direction of the next attraction she knew of in the city. #Well, I'm still going to tan your hide when I catch you, mighty Swallow. Lets see if I can chase you up around the other tourist traps of Marseilles.#

*~*~*~*~*

At the monastery, Ken, Joe, and Ryu were still watching the UN Delegation during an open air meeting.

{Shit. Maybe the kid had the right idea?} Joe muttered as he slowly scanned the hill below the corner balustrade that once served as a battlement of the old Corsican castle.

He thought about trying to contact Jinpei by comlink... at least to check on him, warn him about Ken's difficulty and tell him to get a good excuse ready. But he discarded the idea, Ken's orders; they couldn't risk letting the Galactors know that the Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman were in the area.

{Heck, why worry about Jinpei anyway? That's kid's a smart little son of a bitch, he can watch his back pretty good. He'd just fly off the handle like always.}

#Yeah, Joe, repeat that often enough and you'll start believing it too.# Joe looked down to where Ryu was making rounds of the perimeter about a mile away.

*~*~*~*~*

Ryu liked the scenery and the salty air of the sea, which had been his first true love. His mind wasn't on Jinpei or Cain at all but on the ocean, on the ascetics of Marseilles. He swore if he wasn't in the Kagaku Ninjatai, he'd retire here and work the seas again, as he did with his father, Kame, in Omaya, Kyushu.

He was raise out of his reverie by something which caught his eye not too far away. A glint. From that old shack. He tried to think it was just some harmless reflection at first, but when it popped up two more times, he ran towards the shack out of sudden fear more than curiosity.

#Day dreaming, Ryu? Keep your mind on the mission! Move it! Move it!#

Reaching the door, he ripped it open and grabbed the startled, portly old man standing inside out into the light. The Frenchmen was roaring with anger as Ryu checked through the shack. He could hear Joe coming from atop the hill.

{What's going on, Bigs? What did you find?} Joe asked as the Frenchmen grabbed him by the shirt, intent on venting his anger on another target.

Joe just gave the guy one of his 'steely specials.' A cold 'If you don't shut up, I'll kill you!' look. The man wisely departed.

{Nothing, Joe. My freaking imagination's playing tricks with me again, I guess.} Ryu said as he closed the door.

{Better to err on the side of caution than not at all, Bigs.} Joe grinned as he tapped Ryu's shoulder and started back up the hill.

{You've been up on that monastery for too long, Joe! Reflective verse spouting is *not* you!}

*~*~*~*~*

Ken smiled to himself as he watched Joe climbing back to his post. But he let the smile fade as he turned his attention back to the watch. Contrary to all their beliefs and knowledge of Galactor, the terrorists had not made an assassination attempt yet and this unusual behavior was driving him up the wall.

{What *are* you up to, Katse?} he cursed softly as his eyes continued to scan the crowd around the open air meeting. {It's not like you to take your time.}

A slight glimmer caught his attention. Ken did not wait, he was sure of what he saw. Using prearranged hand signals, he told Joe to hang back while he investigated the disturbance. Joe gave him the thumbs up to indicate he understood the orders.

Ken hugged the shadows as he made his way down to the disturbance. But there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. He frowned again as he moved silently through the shadows to the position where he thought he had seen a glint of metal.

#I'm getting as paranoid as Jun. Damn Jinpei, his disappearance has us all spooked.#

Suddenly, he heard the sound of something metallic striking the cobbled stones of the streets. Ken raced in the direction of the sound. Faintly he could hear the discord sounds of a struggle taking place, mingled with the normal street noises. He knew he did not mistake the sound of metal against flesh. There was a fight over the next street.

But as abruptly as the noise began, it died. Ken rounded the corner to find himself alone in an empty courtyard. He stared around him in frustration. This courtyard was quiet, too quiet. Something had just gone on here, Ken could sense the dissipating energies surrounding him but whoever was involved had fled.

#Kuso! Am I jumping at shadows now?#

Something drew his eyes towards a small stain. Ken walked over to it.

{Blood. Fresh blood, with some saliva. But whose?} He scrutinized the ground, but there were no more traces. {Who was attacked here? What the hell is it about this place? The Galactors have never been this meticulous to pick up behind themselves.}

Ken stood up. He suddenly felt vulnerable standing in the middle of the courtyard, as he eyed the shadows nervously. #Kuso! Why do I suddenly feel like I've been caught napping?#

He scanned the shadows, trusting his instincts to warn him of any danger. But that chilling tingle was missing.

Ken shook his head as he started back from where he came. #Jinpei's disappearance and this guard duty must be getting to me. We're missing something, I can feel it. But what? There's nothing happening around us, this is all wrong!#

Behind him, Ken did not notice the glow of a cigarette as the smoker uncovered its glowing tip. The smoker moved further back into the shadows as Ken continued his track back to the monastery.

*~*~*~*~*

Joe sat back against the balustrade wall atop the old monastery compound, as he tried to make sense of Ken's words.

{You want to know what I think? We're being f$%ked with! All this is getting crazy, Ken! First Jinpei vanishes, then Ryu almost takes this French punk out, now you're looking for fights and bodies that don't exist... It's a big freaking put on!} Joe snarled in pent-up frustration.

{You know, if I thought better... I'd follow your advice, Joe, but we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If the Galactors are here, they could be looking for a shot or just keeping us unbalanced so they can smack some other target.} Ken rubbed his chin thoughtfully. {We're missing something. And I'm beginning to suspect that there may be some truth behind the rumor that Katse engaged a third party outside the Empire.}

{An Assassins' Guild?} Joe looked at him in surprise. {Do you think that one actually exists? But why play around? Why not--}

{Someone's engaged in a little shadow play around us. We may even have an ally in this city. One thing we know for sure, this doesn't fit the Galactors' MO at all. Whoever is out there is much more meticulous and secretive than any of Katse's people. I know what I heard, and I know what I found. I wasn't hearing things, there was a fight down the street. And I did find fresh blood.}

{That's all we need, Ken, added paranoia. If an Assassins' Guild exists, we're in deep shit.}

{Jinpei--} Ryu paled as the thought washed over all of them.

{We have to trust that he can take care of himself,} Ken snarled angrily as the anxiety for the boy's safety built within him. {It doesn't matter one way or the other because we have to stay put with Cain.}

Joe just shook his head in frustration. Down below him, the delegation was breaking for the late afternoon dinner meeting at the Chateau la Coupe, the residence of the Mayor of Marseilles at the Northern edge of the city.

{The delegation's moving, Ken. Should we contact Jun?} Joe asked as he moved to the balustrade staircase.

Ken wanted to, but decided not to for the moment. He shook his head as they joined Ryu near the rental car. {She'd think I was babying her. Let's give her the rest of the day off. She'll contact us if the need arises.}

*~*~*~*~*

Jun, meanwhile, had stopped for more coffee at a small roadside cafe. Her thoughts were heavily on her brother. Though they weren't blood brother and sister, they had become such out of need in that orphanage hell that Nambu took them from.

She had more pleasant thoughts though, the warm nights out on the field during their training where she hugged him closely and showed him the stars... the presents he would make for her... the teasing over Ken... She was crying again when a small rock hit her off the back of the head, causing her to jump from her seat and scan the surrounding buildings.

#Nothing!# {Damn it! Just some falling concrete off a building or some little kid thinking that chucking rocks is fun!} She growled as she replaced the fallen chair and returned to her coffee. She didn't know it... but the shadows were watching her.


	5. Foreshadowing

{{Patience is something our little Cockerel is very short of,}} Andre observed as he looked out the window.

Remy smiled briefly, not even bothering to look up from the papers he had spread over his worktable. Every now and then, they'd hear the sound of an alarm triggering, followed by a colorful curse.

{{It is something he must learn, if he wants to be a thief.}}

Andre scrutinized the youth at the table. {{Child, something's bothering you.}}

Remy shot him a startled look.

{{I've known you since you were a pup. You can't hide from old Andre.}}

Remy muttered under his breath while Andre came in closer and started to massage his shoulders. The gnarled fingers attacked the hard muscles, melting the knots of tension and stress with his clever manipulation.

{{Maybe found de Cockerel's family.}}

Andre waited patiently.

{{The Cockerel has some ninja training, so I lifted his fingerprints and started a search through the Guild's Japan files. Wasn't easy but I found some of his family. Not sure if this is a family he'd want to return to though.}}

{{And? Remy, I am an old man. The suspense is not good for my heart.}}

Remy snorted before he continued. {{He is a son of a traitor, Andre. Belongs to the Toshnatobe ninja clan.}}

{{Merde! Remy, send the boy away!}}

{{No, Andre. I can't do this. The boy needs protection. Don't know what his parents did to betray his clan, but he's got no family to protect him.}}

{{Don't you have enough people mad at you, Remy? You're already banished from New Orleans, the Assassins' Guild are all after your blood. Now you want to be on the kill list of ninjas too?}}

{{Stop, Andre. The Cockerel has a good heart and he is alone. I can't send him away.}}

{{Remy, one day you're going to kill yourself because of your heart.}} Andre sighed as he turned the youth to face him. {{Why do you always make trouble for yourself? Why can't you just take the jobs and be done with them?}}

{{Cause I care, Andre. I sided with the devil once and it ate into my soul. I can't do that again.}}

{{And you think you're siding with the devil to send him away?}}

{{He is alone, Andre. He is a son of a traitor. Do you think his clan will forgive him for what his parents did? They may have trained him, but do you think they will believe him, if he claimed he was not trying to betray them by disappearing on them?

{{I found more of his clan in the city, four of them. Curious folk... One of them looks more Italian than Japanese, the other man has blue eyes, and the woman has Caucasian features...

{{I know various clans in Japan have accepted members of other blood, in recent years, but our files don't specify this as something the Toshnatobe clan practices. Barring the other contractors, who I know, they are the only ninjas in the city that I can see. Or at least they move and hide in the shadows like ninjas.}}

{{So, we have tourists again?}} Andre grinned.

{{Tomita san brought his family.}} Remy eyes twinkled. {{He'll try to find some time to come by the Chateau before he leaves.}}

{{Is he gonna try and sneak in again?}}

{{Doesn't he always? He was all huffy that I found him. He had hoped to surprise us. Now he knows we have forewarning.}} Remy laughed.

{{How old are his twins now? Fourteen?}}

{{Yeah.}} Remy stared down at the table again as a wave of melancholy washed over him. {{The kids show the potential to be as good a ninja as their father. He's a lucky man...}}

{{Rem--}}

{{I think these strangers *could* give him a run for his money. They are *good*. Pity they don't know enough about Marseilles to blend in.}}

{{Don't sell yourself short, Remy.}} Andre let him get away with the change of subject. {{These ninjas are probably good enough to hide from the ordinary folk, but you cannot hide much from a *Master* Thief.

{{If they are his clan, bring de Cockerel to them.}}

{{If it is safe, Andre, I will send him back. For now we know nothing about these ninjas.}} Remy turned away from the old man and reached for the papers again. {{Why he's in Marseilles, I'm not sure. But I'll not deliver the Cockerel to his murderers. Maybe the Cockerel will get his memories back. Until then, I will protect him.}}

{{How you ever made yourself a Master Thief with that bleeding heart... Andre will never understand.}}

{{Didn't have this heart when I made Gambit, Andre.}}

Andre didn't say anymore as he looked out the window again. The alarm sounded again, followed by yet another colorful curse.

In the courtyard, Remy had left the boy to work with a motion detector. He had earlier shown Jinpei how to deceive and disarm the alarm through patience and controlled movements slow enough that the sensor would not detect him.

Andre shook his head. #Ah, Remy. Y' tryin' t' make a thief outta a kid who'd prefer t' smash an' grab. Y' too blind t' see y're jus' wastin' y' time. Y' care too much f' y' own good, homme.#

*~*~*~*~*

**Late afternoon, the Chateau Orians De Coupe, five miles outside Marseilles**

Lucian David was not a happy man these past two days. Especially after what this vagabond of a thief had done to his men and his pride.

David was a handsome, if not a pure bred aristocrat of one of the most powerful families in all Corsica. The Davids didn't get where they were by sheer luck. They prided themselves on being shrewd businessmen, dapper masters of negotiation and of course... expert killers.

#Expert killers...# The thought ran through Lucian's mind as he thought about this meeting with the Council of Twelve. The assassin's council, which by now was extremely enraged by the failure of David's men to make any inroads on their contract, President Cain of the United Nations.

They waited for two days for the heat to die. Their clients wanted a grand affair to be made of the death. Something David was a master in creating with his harassment tactics. But... nearly three days into the arrival of the UN entourage and his men still hadn't accomplished anything.

Cain's undercover agents were good. In the two days after their first failure, David's men had tried to nail down one of the youths, but they remained hidden to their best efforts. At least the assassins did not make matters worse by revealing themselves to the undercover agents. That was David's only consolation.

It was worrying though, that one of his men could almost swear that he saw a bird like creature in the area around the President's residence. A light chill rippled down Lucian's spine. If indeed the Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman were about, it would be a further complication and an added level of difficulty to the job. The deadly skills of this unorthodox commando unit were legendary, as was their loyalty. 'Cut one and the rest bleed.' This was not a team to anger or to risk invoking an O'merta with.

Lucian had to push these thoughts aside as he walked past the rich ornate walls and furnishings of the grand reception hall. Through the double doors, a chamber marked where the council sat in near darkness to shroud their heads from view. The elders of the powerful Corsican Mafia's assassins Guild wasted no time in bearing their teeth and their rage upon David when he came to stand under a white light before them.

{{Well... for the leader of the Guild, you seem to have a lack of focus, David. Let's see... your contract was to kill President Cane. Instead, you decided to divert your forces after Gambit. Would you care to explain yourself?}}

Before David could defend himself, another of the elders spoke.

{{The pride of the Guild is at stake, David. This thief has made a fool of you... Stealing art from your home... defeating your so called 'experts and professionals.' It is a mockery, Lucian. To us more than to you.}}

A third elder spoke, but his words offered no reprieve to Lucian. {{Our patience wears thin, Lucian, as does our confidence in your suitability. You wouldn't want to lose that, would you?}}

David trembled inwardly. Without the support of the council, he could be stripped of his status. The position of Guild Leader, which had been his family's since the fall of the Corsican Mafia in the early 21st Century.

{{Well?}} asked one elder at the end of the table. {{Speak your defense and mark your words carefully.}}

{{Elders, it was my decision to divert my assassins from our contractual obligations. As was tradition, I assumed Gambit to be a prime target of the Guild's attention. It was a regretful error and it shall not be repeated. We will have our mark, I pledge myself to that goal. I swear to it!}}

{{You have two more nights to make good this vow.}}

{{You have already committed the Guild to eliminating Gambit, Lucian. And I wonder if that is a wise choice since he has already defeated your 'best' men?}} An elder asked aloud.

{{As long as the feud between thieves and the assassins exists, Gambit will remain a prime target, Lucian. But perhaps *you* are just not ready to face a *Master* Thief, especially not one who wears the title of Gambit.}}

David was livid with anger, but he dared not show it in here. He would keep his thoughts silent for now... till he could deal with Gambit once and for all.

*~*~*~*~*

"EEEEEEEEE..."

Remy looked up at the clock. He had already lost count of the number of times he had heard the alarm go off. Taking a break from his planning, he looked out the window to check on his student.

Jinpei moved slowly across the yard. It was pure shinobi iri, the way of silent movement. Hands open, fingers extended, arms and legs spread wide to reduce the sounds of friction... It all looked good.

Remy only shook his head. He could already see Jinpei's problem.

"EEEEEEEEE..."

Remy watched Jinpei jump again in frustration. It was almost comical to see Jinpei's way of dealing with a situation. He'd walk back to the other side of the courtyard every time and sit. Just sit and stare at the thing with a smirk on his face before he'd get up and try again.

"Humph. I'll give de Cockerel credit, he is no quitter." Remy chuckled as he turned to leave the room, walk out of the house and into the yard to watch Jinpei's latest attempt.

"EEEEEEEEE..."

The alarm went off again as Remy reached the porch. Jinpei held in his frustrations as he turned to glance at Remy, before determinedly walking back to the fence again.

"Well?" Remy walked over to him and placed his hand on Jinpei's shoulder. "Find my little task tricky?"

Jinpei looked up and Remy, his face was screwed up in frustration. "Tricky isn't the word, it's driving me crazy!"

"Look... why don' y' stop f' now an' get some rest? Y' c'n do it again in de--"

"No!" Jinpei pleaded. "I can do it! I want you to be proud of me! Please, Remy?"

Remy smiled, "Is nice dat y' want t' please Remy, Cockerel, but y're losing sight o' what's important... y' target. Y' wan' t' continue wit' dis... fine, but y' got t' use y' head. Y' not concentrating on de right target. Worry 'bout dat first 'fore your vanity."

Remy took Jinpei's shoulders and gave them a quick rub, " Now... very slowly... relax, take y'r time... an' use y' head."

Remy gave Jinpei a slight push and sent him walking again.

#De Cockerel's trying his best t' make me happy. He knows Andre doesn't want him t' stay with us. Know I can' keep him wit' me. But I have t' know more 'bout dis Ninja clan o' his 'fore I figure out what t' do wit' him.#

"EEEEEEEEE..."

*~*~*~*~*

Jinpei walked back to the other side of the courtyard again. He was missing something and he knew it. Remy had made it look so easy. Hell, it looked as though he practically strolled towar--

#That's it! I know how to beat that thing now!#

Jinpei looked towards Remy as Andre came out to stand beside him. Andre was speaking in French to him again. He hated that. He hated having the adults talk without regard to him. Andre was probably trying to get Remy to leave him at the orphanage again.

Jinpei had to wonder what Remy had uncovered in his research. He was so sure that he had come to a comfortable understanding with Andre after the test that afternoon. Something Andre had learnt since then had changed this.

#Probably thinks that I'm a lost cause. Well I'll show him. Remy won't have to feel ashamed about me!#

Jinpei turned to face the motion sensor again. A *motion* sensor. That's what it was. It didn't pick up sound, it sensed motion.

> ~"Y' not concentrating on de right target. Worry 'bout dat first 'fore your vanity"~

Jinpei flushed slightly as he thought about what he had been thinking when Remy had left him to the device. Remy was not a ninja and he made no pretenses about it. Jinpei thought he was being smart in using his ninja training to reach the device. His focus was wrong from the start.

He started again. This time he focused his attention not so much on silence, but on moving slowly across the yard.

*~*~*~*~*

{{He's been at it the whole--}}

{{Andre, he is not a quitter. That must count for something in your books?}}

{{Tell that to the judge when he gets hurled up for stealing. The Cockerel is not a thief, Remy.}}

{{No, he is primarily a ninja of the fighter discipline. But there are ninjas who specialize in the thieving skills. And some of these can have superior skills to a Guild thief.}}

{{But they still can't hold a candle to a *Master* Thief. Gambit--}}

"Arret, Andre. Look at de Cockerel now." Remy smiled. Jinpei was actually within arm's reach of the device now. He was learning.

*~*~*~*~*

Sweat poured down Jinpei's face. He could feel his heart pounding so hard within his ribs he was actually feeling quite giddy. But he was doing it! He was focused on movement. His whole body moving millimeter by millimeter closer to the target.

A smile of triumph touched his lips as he reached out to touch the motion sensor. #I did it!#

"EEEEEEEEE..."

He was crestfallen as Remy strode towards him. Remy only chuckled as he tousled his sweat-dampened hair.

"Enough f' de day, Cockerel. Y' made it t' de device but y' clean forgot everything I told y' 'bout disarming it, didn't y'?"

Jinpei looked at his feet sheepishly. He couldn't believe how heavily he was breathing, or how sweat soaked he was after just this one motion across the courtyard.

"I show y' again in de morning. Now go take a shower, get some food in y' and we work wit' de lock picks for a spell, neh?"

Andre didn't say anything as Jinpei staggered past him. His face was unreadable as Remy approached.

"De boy tries very hard t' please y'."

"He got no wish t' go t' de orphanage, Andre. Got some o' his records just now, I'll find out more t'night."

"Gonna do a job t'night, Gambit?"

"An important one but also t' research de hits f' t'morrow night." Gambit nodded to him. "And I t'ink I'll pay a visit t' dose ninjas too. But dey'll not know I'm watching dem."


	6. Shadows of a Star-less Night

"Where are you going?"

Gambit looked over his shoulder as he secured his duffel bag to the Harley.

"Out. Get some sleep, Cockerel. We talk again in de morning."

"You're going out on a job, aren't you." Jinpei left the door to walk down the steps towards him.

"Maybe."

"Let me go with you, please. I'm ready, I--"

Gambit turned casually away from the Harley to look at him. "That is not your place to decide, boy. You are not ready yet."

"I am so! I--"

Jinpei ended his retort to the address of 'boy.' All his senses screamed at him that this was not the time to be glib. He rocked back on his heels as the hazel-red eyes bore into him. Eyes that seemed to burn like ochre fires in the pits of hell.

A total personality shift had taken place before him. The bearing and manners had changed... taken on a commanding presence that brooked no argument. The Cajun had suddenly become cold... distant... intimidating.

This wasn't the Remy who brought him back two nights ago. This wasn't the trickster, who laughed at the assassins even as he killed them. This man held the carriage of a Commandant to a lowly private who had little or no say in authority. This was the cold, professional Master Thief, Gambit.

A memory flickered in the recesses of his mind of another voice... another face who had used a similar carriage with him. A voice, which would give commands that required his total obedience. He looked down quickly to tear his eyes away from the intimidating visage. He didn't even dare look up when he heard Gambit leave the bike to walk towards him.

A pair of hands griped his shoulders gently. "There is no democracy in the Guild, Jinpei. An apprentice must never question his Master. It will be well that you remember this." The voice was soft, gentle.

Jinpei swallowed and nodded.

"Look at me, Jinpei."

He looked up nervously, to meet the pair of hazel-red eyes that no longer seemed to glow with an arcane energy.

"It is my judgment that you are not ready for this night's work. But we see again t'morrow, neh?" Remy grinned as he tousled his hair.

Jinpei stayed on the porch as he watched Gambit ride off. He was still quite stunned and off balanced over what just occurred.

"So, Cockerel, had enough f' de day?"

Andre's words shook him out of his reverie.

"Andre? Is-I-What--?"

"Not so easy t' be a thief, is it, Cockerel? Y' t'ink we tell y' of de rituals an' traditions o' de Guild, jus' t' hear our own voice?" Andre steered him back into the house. "De Guilds are guided by tradition as much as by honor, Cockerel.

"Rules, protocol, discipline, an' respect... dese are all cornerstones o' de Guild. Y' remember dat. Y' *never* challenge y' Master's decisions. If y' want t' ask y' Master f' somethin', y' use y' head an' ask it right."

"I... didn't know it'd be this... strict."

"Dat is de way o' de Guild, Cockerel. We are not de common burglar. Y' hear 'bout dem amateurs in de news an' de papers everyday. No one hear e'en a whisper o' de Guild o' Thieves." Andre looked him over for a moment. "An' when y' leave us, Cockerel, y' not say a word t' a body 'bout us either."

"Andre, why won't you believe me when I tell you I won't leave Remy?"

"Cause I c'n see, Cockerel. Y're a good fighter. But y' never gonna make a good thief, or an assassin."

Jinpei bristled at the old man when he left him at his bedroom door. As Jinpei entered his room, a smirk crossed his face for a moment as he contemplated following Remy. Then the memory of the burning eyes touched him and he shuddered inwardly.

Another memory also appeared to him fleetingly, of a pair of sapphire blue eyes, which would look at him with much of the same expression that commanded obedience. But whom did those eyes belong to?

He yawned mightily, suddenly aware of how tired he really felt. Remy had given him a good work out after he had come back from the city, but it was the last few hours with the motion sensor that really did him in.

To be fair, Remy was probably right about his not being ready. Considering all the time he wasted with the motion sensor...

> ~"It is my judgment that you are not ready for this night's work."~

Jinpei climbed into bed and sighed. #Well, I'm going to work on it tomorrow. I'll show him I'm ready for tomorrow night!#

As Jinpei drifted into sleep, a fleeting thought came to him. #Must be mis-remembering it, but did Remy lose his accent?#

*~*~*~*~*

Ken chafed at the collar of his military dress uniform as he watched the official after dinner function with both caution and extreme concern. Jun hadn't reported in at all, though he didn't expect her to do so. He also had more than enough faith in her not to send Ryu out to check on her.

Ken continued to muse over Jinpei. The kid deserved a good paddling for leaving his post, worse for vanishing altogether. What was he going to do when Jinpei finally returned? He *couldn't* overlook this insubordination. Jinpei's absence affected the whole team... Now it seemed his preoccupation had attracted the attentions of the man he was guarding.

The President dismissed several aides around him to take a breather and talk to Ken in a more private setting. The man was always good to the Kagaku Ninjatai. He was a big man both in size and in stature with a grandfatherly appearance. The team enjoyed it whenever he came to see them at the ISO HQ.

Cain stopped for a moment before a big glass window, which Ken quickly made him step away from.

"Well, Commander? What's next? A steel box with a slit in the side so I can see?"

"Just thinking about your safety, Sir. We can never be too careful where Galactor is concerned," Ken reminded him as he continued to look about.

Cain looked at the timepiece that hung in his shirt pocket before turning serious. "Tell me the truth, Commander. I've heard that there's been a few 'wild' incidents happening around us of late? And there's been a certain unease in the air...?"

Ken frowned, momentarily thinking again of Jinpei's disappearance. But this disappearance was only known within the team. If anything, Cain was probably reacting to the nervous energy, born of inactivity, of the UN guards.

"Yes sir. We've been running across things that just don't fit the Galactor MO at all. I'm surprised they haven't tried something yet."

"And I think the whole lot of you are neurotic."

Ken coughed back his laughter as Cain's eyes twinkled at him. "You *did* receive a death threat, sir."

The President rolled his eyes as he nodded. "I was talking to the Mayor a while ago and he was telling me about the history of the Corsican Mafia. They say Marseilles was the center of activity before they disappeared altogether. There's rumors the organization never died out. I thought you might need to know that."

"And should I now turn around and accuse *you* of paranoia, Sir?" Ken smiled briefly. "Nambu Hakase informed us that the Corsican Mafia is dead."

"But the Mafia was supposed to have a branch of assassins who were *not* apprehended."

"It might just be a distortion of facts, Sir. We do know that Berg Katse has engaged Assassins who are rumored to be outside the Galactor Empire, but..."

"Such are the rumors... Perhaps they are tales told just to add mystery and wonderment to the city." Cain laughed, "But what else can old men do but to pass along the old tales, just for some excitement in our lives?

"Being on a hit list, has so far been rather boring, Commander. Are you sure you can't hurry the Galactors along in making at attempt on my life?"

This time Ken couldn't stop the smile from spreading over his face.

"Ahhh, that's the lad. No need to look so grim all the time." Cain patted him on the shoulder before he turned to walk back amongst the guests.

Ken turned his attention back to his watch, affirmed in his determination that the Galactors would not take the life of this kindly man. But his thoughts returned to his missing little brother.

#No. Damn it, Washio. The mission comes first. You have to trust Jinpei's ability to take care of himself. Cain needs you more than he does. The Galactors will not take him down due to your inattention!#

His eyes turned again to scan the crowd and the surroundings. But niggling thoughts of his youngest ninja remained within him.

#Jun, I hope you find him. We can't afford this distraction.#

*~*~*~*~*

{Now what!} Jun grumbled as she tried to make her way back to the motel in the late evening.

Even on the lighted but empty Chanse Valoet market street, she swore someone was following her around. There were quick shadows coming and going into and out of view and focus so fast along the way, that Jun swore she was more tired than she thought she was. Of course, it wasn't beyond her brother to pull such crazy jokes from time to time on her, out of spirit or spite.

There it was again. A sudden but more slowly appearing shadow than before. The image of a figure clearly discernible, yet without features as it stood bathed in darkness.

Pursue it? Risky by any measure. It could all be some carefully crafted Galactor ruse or just a stupid prankster getting his kicks off of trying to scare her.

Then came a laugh, a clear childlike laugh that Jun couldn't ignore and a tapping sound at her feet. A rock dropped from above. Jinpei would do the same thing, she was sure of it. Then again... it could be another Galactor ruse.

{Shit!} She cursed under her breath. {Do or don't?} She made the decision quickly. {Do it!}

It was a slow, very slow climb up the side of the small French apartment building towards the roof, where an open window beckoned. Jun cursed her decision to wear that lovely skirt which Ken had bought for her. It was definitely *not* made for the activity she was currently engaged in.

#Should have carried my regular gear with me for a quick change.#

Jun peek into the room for a quick scrutiny before she stepped in. There was the laughter again. Just ahead, near the center of the room, a small figure sat alone kicking his legs in the dark.

{Jinpei? I hope you realize the trouble you're in! Your running about has had us all--} Jun left the window to approach the figure.

A big mistake. Jun had just enough time to react and catch the knife-wielding arm that moved in front of her throat. She flipped her attacker over her back and slammed him down before her, shattering his arm and breaking his windpipe with one smooth motion.

"All right son of a bitch! Who are you?" she snarled at the stranger who definitely wasn't Jinpei.

The stranger laughed again as he rose from his seat. Unfolding his long limbs, he revealed himself to be much larger than her original assessment.

"You should ask who you will be greeting, mademoiselle. And it is mort, mademoiselle, Je suis la mort." he sneered as he waved his hand and brought forth his hidden team of assassins to surround her.

"As goes a well known Russian phrase, ma cherie... 'Das vadania!' May you go with God!"

Jun kept herself calm. She was hemmed in from all sides and they looked determined to take her down *hard*. In the crammed confines of the apartment, they had the advantage. She needed space if she was to get out alive and there was only one way to get that space.

Her hands reached almost casually for the waistband of her skirt. A strategic rip and it fell to her feet, exposing her slim and shapely legs to the eyes of the startled assassins. That split second hesitation was all she needed.

She launched herself at the assassins on the right, even as her feet kicked the skirt at the other assassins, blinding them as they found themselves entangled in the billowing material. The assassins were soon to learn how powerful those shapely and muscular legs were. Jun used their lust and distraction to good advantage, guaranteeing some of the assassins their last vision of beauty as a stocking clad knee or heeled foot smashed into faces and bodies.

Jun crashed through the window to land in the courtyard outside the apartment. She had the space now, but her danger wasn't over, the odds still not looking so good. The remaining assassins were just as swift to follow her and again she was surrounded.

Jun cursed her decision to follow a lead while she wasn't dressed in her special civvies. The bird style would have been very welcome now. But they weren't supposed to let the Galactors know that the Kagaku Ninjatai were about and she knew she'd never have been able to pose as a tourist in those clothes. She wasn't dressed for this. If they'd just give her a bit of space, she'd have the time to send out an emergency bird scramble.

"So our little kitten... 'she wants to play ze chase.'" That voice again. "You have only made things more interesting for us, fille."

"I'd like to see you back that up." A smile touched Jun's lips, which did not reach her eyes. Her yo-yo was in her hands, retrieved from the previously concealed thigh holster.

"Pah. We have better things to do, mademoiselle. So though it would be a shame to miss out on a physical grapple..." The slight figure held out a grenade. "... you will soon make it up to us, no?"

Jun could not hold back her sudden intake of breath. A gas grenade! They could put her out for the count to do anything they...

"Arragh!"

The grenade fell to the floor unarmed, followed by drops of blood from a hand that was impaled by two cards. The remaining assassins were on the alert. For a brief moment, it looked as though they had forgotten about her.

"Playing cards? Gambit!"

A soft laughter drifted from the alley beside the building they had so recently vacated. The glow of a cigarette stood out in the darkness of the shadows.

"So, news o' m' presence precedes me, neh? Y' Master's methods are not condoned by de Guilds, cochon." A slim figure moved out of the alley, though he stayed shrouded in shadows. "It got no honor. And Gambit be here t' see it end."

"Our Master would be etre aux anges to see your end this night, thief. Get him!"

Jun didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted. It was as if the assassins had suddenly decided that she was some unimportant piece of the background.

"Hey!" Her yo-yo flashed out, slicing through their ranks in a spray of blood.

The stranger chuckled again as he spun a Bo into action. "Messieurs, y' never been taught proper? *Never* ignore a lady."

With this welcomed assistance, the odds swiftly shifted to Jun's favor.

The assassins were good, but they never had a chance. Jun was relieved to discover that the stranger was almost as good as Joe or Ken. He twisted and tumbled through the air, striking out with hands, feet, or Bo. Each blow calculated and precise.

In her training with the Kagaku Ninjatai, Jun had been exposed to many fighting disciplines, but she couldn't pigeonhole the stranger's style. He had a style and flair of his own... More of an acrobat than a martial arts proponent, she realized, but no less deadly.

After a few heart-pounding minutes, the battle started to wind down and the swiftly dwindling assassins started to get desperate and careless. The pair of allies found the focus of the assassins shifting again as they remembered their initial target. Jun, however, was not an easy target to pin down.

Then the unthinkable happened. The blood slick cobblestones proved to be Jun's undoing. She had just dispatched an assassin with a sharp kidney blow when she landed wrong. Her ankle twisted awkwardly as she fell with her victim.

"It is done!"

She heard the scream even as she saw the black blade come spinning at her. Her hand reached up instinctively, but Jun knew that in her current position and in the dim lighting, she had no hope of judging the speed enough to catch it. The most she could hope for was to deflect the knife and accept a minor cut in slapping it away.

Even as she made that decision, the need for the action was taken away as a black gloved hand caught the blade neatly and returned it to its origin. A gasp and a gurgle greeted the arrival of the knife and the last of the assassins stumbled back into the light of a street lamp with the knife deeply embedded in his throat.

As swiftly as it had begun, the battle was over with that last death. Jun stayed seated on the floor, staring at the assassin whose lifeblood gushed from the fatal wound. She sucked in a deep breath as she studied the face.

"A--a boy, he--he can't be more than 16."

The stranger snapped his head towards her in surprise. Jun started to feel incredibly foolish for that comment. She had been in this line for so long, it was too easy to forget how old she really was. She wasn't *that* egotistical to think that her special team was the only competent youths in training.

"Like you, if De garcon be old enough t' run with de assassins, he old enough t' take de consequence o' failure, petite." She could hear the grim amusement in his tones.

The black gloved hand appeared before her face, offering her a hand up, "Come, best get us gone, chere. 'Fore reinforcements show up."

"I--" She accepted the hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"Don't got t' walk, jus' hold on." One arm slipped around her waist and he held out a cable gun with the other to shoot a line up.

Before Jun could catch her breath, the recoil of the cable jerked her off her feet. With little else said between them, she went flying up to the roof of the apartment. Borne in the arms of the man the assassins had called 'Gambit'.

Jun stared in silent morbid fascination while the bodies were removed and the courtyard restored to its original ordinary appearance.

"What are you people?" She turned to the tall stranger, wishing that she could make out his face in the long shadows.

"Can' answer dat, petite. Dis not y' concern. Y' best leave while y' can." He appeared to look down at her legs for a moment.

Jun could feel the heat of the blush starting to color her cheeks. She couldn't see his face, but she could hear the smile in his words as he removed his trenchcoat and draped it over her shoulders.

"Y' got t' wear more dan dat, petite. Y' givin' Gambit some ideas, but he got no time f' dat t'night."

Her protests were stopped by his mouth closing over hers.

When asked later, Jun couldn't really say why she didn't push him away and slap him for his audacity. She only knew at that moment that it was a kiss that made her knees weak... a kiss of a type she yearned for Ken to give her. She didn't want the kiss to end, wishing with all her heart that it was Ken with her now; that he would stop being so self conscious about their relationship and accept the love between them.

"He be a lucky man, chere." She heard him whisper. Then he was gone. And she was alone once more in the cool starless Marseilles night.

*~*~*~*~*

{Let me get this straight,} Ken growled with ill humor in dim light of the room. Jun pointedly ignored his sour countenance as she sat brushing her hair at the dressing table.

{You meet up with this short guy and a bunch of people who almost kill you. You lose your skirt and then this suave looking stranger helps you to kill all of them, carries you off and kisses you... and you never thought to call for backup. That's a wild story, Jun.}

Jun had never gotten mad at Ken before, though now she was quite ready to smack him for his grumpy tone of voice. But no... violence was the exhaustion of intellect. Words worked better.

{Oh... are we getting jealous, Washio? My word, how you've become so concerned for my chastity all of a sudden.}

Ken almost fell of his chair at her words. {Damn it, Jun! I'm concerned for your safety! Those bastards had plans for you. And what if this--Gambit wanted more than a kiss?!}

{It certainly wasn't his intent, Ken! I knew it, I felt it. He had more elan and honor in his blood than viciousness. He did take me by surprise though... the guy had a lot of gall, incredibly self confident and assured to say the least. And he was a damn good kisser!}

Ken was hurt by that, she could see him fighting it. She knew he loved her, but out of professional ethics he couldn't show it and it drove him crazy. Jun moved to touch him, to give him an assuring hug that he hadn't slipped from her graces, that he still remained in her heart.

He looked into her eyes. {If those bastards had hurt you... nothing would have held me back from seeking them out. Nothing!}

Ken unfolded his arms and turned to leave. {I've contacted Hakase and passed along our suspicions on the existence of the Guild.}

{Ken--}

{Sleep well tonight, Jun. We'll talk more in the morning.}

Jun breathed out sharply in frustration as the door closed behind Ken. For a moment, she forgot about Jinpei... the chill that gripped her when she realized how close she had come to being gang raped... the adrenaline pumping battle... the suave stranger...

All this was forgotten with the memory of the hurt in that pair of eyes. The images of jealousy, pain, and torment which she had briefly relished to see in those sapphire blue eyes. Then... the last expression of resignation and indifference. That tore into her heart.

{Damn it, Ken. Why do you have to make things so difficult?} Jun turned back to the mirror and pulled the comb through her hair roughly. #I was just teasing you... I didn't mean it and you give up so easily. Why can't you just accept me?#


	7. The Longest Day, Late Morning

Jinpei hesitated at the door. The sun was already near its zenith and Remy still hadn't made an appearance.

#Aawww, times a wasting, Remy. Why don't I just get you up?# He firmly resolved himself to knock on the door.

A gnarled hand caught his fist before it could descend on the wood and a hand clamped over his mouth before he could cry out in his fright.

"Softly, Cockerel," Andre whispered in his ear before he could even think of struggling. "Let de Master sleep."

Jinpei shot him an angry glare, but nodded as Andre released him and indicated that he should proceed to the kitchen. It shocked him that the old man could have come up behind him so silently, without his noticing. #Well, he is a retired thief.#

"It is de thieves hours, Cockerel." Andre handed him a plate of bacon and eggs. "Gambit didn' get back until four dis morning. When he can, he doesn' get up until de afternoon."

"Aaww Andre, I want some action. It's boring sitting around doing nothing." Jinpei groaned around a mouthful of bacon and croissants.

"Dan why y' not practice wit' de picks, or e'en de motion sensor? Y' forget how t' rewire somethin', y' ask. Andre show y'."

Jinpei flushed slightly as he stared at his plate.

Andre only shook his head. "Cockerel, y' wanted t' go out with Gambit last night, but he not gonna take y' e'en t'night, if y' can' pick a simple lock or rewire a security system. We talkin' 'bout y' life, an' his life, Cockerel. Gambit not live wit' dis contract on his head by bein' sloppy."

"I can take care of mysel--"

"Can y' take care o' y' *partner*? C'n y' be responsible fer y' crew?" Andre interrupted him and shushed him from raising his voice. "Y' can fight, Cockerel. Fact is, I be willin' t' bet y' a good scrapper t' have on y' side if dere be a battle. But y' don' got t' be a fighter t' be a thief."

"I can learn."

"Patience? Consideration? Not everybody can be a good student, Cockerel. There some things a body can' teach."

"I can learn." Jinpei nodded determinedly.

*~*~*~*~*

The clear clink and tinkle of fine crystal would be equated by some to the bell-like peal of fairies laughing. However, the discordant sounds currently emerging from the study of the chateau of the David's clan were clearly an aberration to the fine music one would associate with crystal.

The servants trembled and stayed out of sight of the study area, even as the crystal decanter joined the Reidel glasses on the hardwood floor. The crystal set was the only outward show of anger Lucian David would allow himself. He kept his sulfurous curses low and to himself as he glared at the ornaments around his study.

Lucian had immediately sensed unease in the air when he had awakened that morning. A walk through the chateau confirmed his suspicions. During the night, an intruder had entered *his* home... the home of the Guild Leader of the Marseilles Assassins.

The interloper not only entered unnoticed, but he also rearranged ornaments and pieces of furniture before leaving. Again, undetected! Lucian didn't have to guess the identity of the intruder. His visitor had left a calling card.

An empty port glass mocked him on his study table beside a small oak chest. Inside the chest was a standard assassins' dagger, its blade cleaned, and a playing card. An Ace of Spades.

"Gambit."

Lucian seethed as his thoughts wrapped around the interloper. This was a type of warning only employed by the very best of the thieves... a *Master* Thief. Only the elite of thieves would attempt to enter the house of an enemy and only rearrange furniture without taking anything. The Guilds could count on the fingers of one hand the number of Master Thieves who would even consider the method as a way of flaunting their prowess. And there was only one Master Thief Lucian knew of who was currently in his city.

It was a warning... a warning against the use of the Escillis poison. Lucian crushed the playing card in his hand. He meant to ignore that warning.

{{Guild Leader?}}

Lucian looked up to glare at the messenger. To give him credit, the messenger didn't flinch nor allow himself get distracted by the pile of shattered crystal and spilled port in the corner of the room.

{{The--er--unit you sent out last night--was--vanquished--}}

{{What?!!!}}

{{The girl was assisted by Gambit--}}

{{Gambit?! Again?!! Am I surrounded by incompetents?! My assassins were bested by one stripling thief and a *girl*?!!}}

The messenger stayed silent as he stared at his feet in embarrassment. Lucian David abruptly dismissed the messenger and turned away to think over his current deployment.

They had marked out the five undercover youths days ago. On that first night, it had been in the plans for a brief scuffle with them... a few nicks or cuts and one or more of them would die of Escillis poisoning. But they were distracted by Gambit's appearance.

To David, it was a stroke of good fortune that the girl departed the UN entourage on her own. Her abused and broken body was to be left in the President's bed for him to find when he returned from his dinner party. But their plans were thwarted again.

In the course of three nights, the thief had disrupted a pattern the Davids had used for decades and almost totally decimated his contingent of assassins. For three nights running, there wasn't a single advancement in his contract against the UN President. All because of Gambit!

Their time was now limited. He could not afford to play around with intimidation tactics anymore. They had to strike tonight.

David's eyes were drawn back to the pile of shattered crystal and port. The servants would talk. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. Soon, the council would know of his shame. Lucian turned away to stared up at the picture of his great-great-great grandfather.

After the Revolution in the 16th century, his family had fallen from grace. The man whose portrait stared down at him had started the struggle to rebuild the house of David. But it wasn't until Lucian's father had seized control of the Clan, after the debacle in the early 21st century, that they had finally risen from the gutters of the nobility.

In the space of three nights, Gambit had threatened to undo the centuries of hard work.

The last Reidal glass joined its companions in the corner of the room.

*~*~*~*~*

Andre nodded to the youth who came out on the front porch beside him. "Finally ready t' join de legions o' living, pup?"

Remy yawned and stretched theatrically before grinning at the ancient man. "At least 'm startin' t' feel human again."

Andre only snorted, "'bout time. Don' t'ink Andre didn' miss seein' y' forego a nap after y' bath yesterday. Y' been up f'over 75 hours an' all f' no good reason."

"Arret, Andre. I got m' sleep dis mornin'. Time t' get t' work." Remy glanced over at the yard. "De Cockerel been practicin'?"

"De whole mornin', he's gettin' better."

Remy arched an eyebrow at the old man. He could tell from the expression that Andre was impressed and hating it.

"I haven' heard dis go off yet?"

"The Cockerel's only started wit' it when he knew y' were awake. Been workin' wit' de picks an' de wirin' de rest o' de mornin'."

Remy nodded as he turned his attention back to the yard. "Bien, time I up de class den."

"Y' takin' him wit' y' t'night?"

"If it don' kill us."

"Y' don' need t'."

"Only way f' de Cockerel t' see that he's not got de true makin's o' a thief."

"Why y' do dis t' y'self, Remy? Y' know y' got t' send de boy back."

"Arret Andre, let me keep dis illusion. Let me care f' him jus' one more night. I take him back tomorrow morning. I promise."

"Remy, one day y' got t' let someone back in dere, an' let dem *stay*." Andre tapped his chest lightly. "Y' love, and den y' send dem away before y' t'ink dey c'n hurt y'."

"Y' t'ink I don' love y', Andre?"

"What? Y' t'ink *old* Andre live f'ever, pup? Y' got t' go out and find people y' own age, who *don'* want t' kill y'."

Remy laughed, "My occupation not 'zactly de most c'nducive t' makin' friends, Andre. I make dem when it comes."

"At least make dem where y' gonna be, pup. Y' have y' friends in Asia, but y' like stayin' on dis side o' de world."

They fell silent again as they watched Jinpei approaching the motion detector. He had finally reached it and was going through the motions of disarming the device. Jinpei had learned his lessons well.

*~*~*~*~*

_[{Good morning, Ken. Have you any word of Jinpei?}]_

{No. And we can't afford to split our attention much longer,} Ken muttered grimly as he settled into his seat and looked up at the monitor in the God Phoenix. {With the attack on Jun last night, I'd say that the Galactors are going to up the heat on Cain.}

_[{Do what you have to do. We will just have to trust that Jinpei can take care of himself.}]_

{Repeat that enough and maybe I'll start believing it too.}

_[{Ken... we *will* have to talk about this--misconduct.}]_

{I know...} Ken shifted uncomfortably in his seat. {Have you got anything for me on the information I sent you, Hakase?}

_[{Concurrence with your thoughts, Ken.}] Nambu accepted his change of subject without grumbling. [{We have enough evidence to suggest that there indeed exists an international Guild of Assassins.}]_

{Kuso!}

_[{Be careful. I once scoffed at the Corsican Mafia, but apparently there have been enough suspicious deaths in the surrounding area to warrant truth to stories of the Mafia's continued existence... if not the survival of the branch of assassins.}]_

{Terrific, I just spoke to Cain on this last night. The stories are still circulating. Anything on the other matter?}

_[{On the code-name you gave me last night? Nothing.}]_

{What?}

_[{Nothing, a blank, zero. The man's a cipher, Ken. We have no *official* records or papers on the name 'Gambit'.}]_

Ken arched an eyebrow at Dr. Nambu's slight emphasis. {So what's the un-official word?}

_[{If Jun can give us a report, this will be our first eyewitness confirmation that an agent known as 'Gambit' exists.}] Nambu couldn't hold back his excitement any longer. [{Interpol wants a statement from us. They've been trying to get an eyewitness confirmation on this man for decades. Can Jun give us a physical description?}]_

{No. I've talked to her about it and the only description she could give me, we couldn't use as an identifier.} Ken felt his face flush as he said it. {So what's his deal? Where are his loyalties?}

_[{I don't know yet.}]_

{Is he a rogue assassin?}

_[{I doubt it. The cases in connection with the name point more to theft, infiltration, intelligence and counter intelligence. A top-notch espionage agent or in other words, we are dealing with a thief of the highest order. That kind of skill doesn't just appear out of the blue. Inline with our current thoughts that there exists an international Guild of Assassins, you may have given us confirmation of the existence of an international Guild of Thieves.}]_

Ken whistled, {Judging for the assistance he gave Jun, we could safely say that the two don't get along.}

_[{Interpol will be sending us the dossier on him. All unconfirmed and unsubstantiated information, of course. From the age of the files, they have a suspicion that 'Gambit' is more of a title than it is one person, but they have no proof. They hope that we can help them separate myths from reality,}] Nambu told him. [{When Cain's diplomatic visit is over, stay a few more days, Ken. Try to make contact with this 'Gambit.' If the alleged Guild of Assassins is in league with Galactor, we must try and position the ISO with the Guild of Thieves.}]_

{Right, signing of--}

_[{Wait a moment, Ken. You mentioned earlier that Jun gave you a description? What was it? We can at least record--}]_

{It's not something we can use,} Ken interrupted as he squirmed in his seat. He inwardly cursed himself for having been loose tongued enough to bring it up.

_[{We'll be the judge of that, Commander. Any description we can have on Gambit is one more than we have now. What did she say about him?}]_

Ken mumbled under his breath as he sank deeper into his seat. His face was scarlet.

_[{I didn't get that, wha--?}]_

{She said he was a damn good kisser! Washio out.} Ken killed the screen so he didn't have to catch sight of the normally stoic Nambu choking in laughter.


	8. The Longest Day, Afternoon

Andre watched from the second story balcony as Remy coaxed Jinpei on again towards the sensor. Remy wanted to be absolutely certain that the boy was skilled enough for what was to come. There could be no second tries or accidents, only cold, confident skill.

In Andre's mind though, he wished the boy would screw up, just to make Remy *not* take him at all. But Andre could not deny that he was impressed by the boy's attitude, the Cockerel was not a quitter by any measure. For that, Andre could grudgingly show respect.

Remy watched as Jinpei slowly proceeded through the motions with a cat-like grace. #De Cockerel is a natural after all.#

Jinpei finished with a wide smug grin as he again held the chip that made the sensor work in his hands.

"See, Cockerel? Simple when y' mind is properly set isn' it?"

"You bet it was! I--I... ?" Remy's hand shot out to catch Jinpei's elbow when he began to sway slightly. Jinpei knuckled his temple with his right fist and leaned against the firm hand to steady himself.

'Mind?' 'Set?' The words were triggering a memory. Two images were beside him. And the two words echoed in his head ~mind set~ It said to him. What was the rest of the sentence?

> ~it's a mind set~

It faded as quickly as it came and Jinpei once more became aware of himself standing in the courtyard.

"Cockerel? It happened again?" Remy asked soothingly as he shifted his position to rubbed Jinpei's shoulders.

"Ye--Yeah. I think my memory's trying to come back. I see these flashes of people I--*think* I remember. Like this big guy? He's really fat. Then there's this girl with long hair. I think I've called her Onechan, but it's--it's not clear?"

Remy studied him at arm's length. His expression carefully schooled and neutral.

"'Swallow Jinpei.' Remy, does that mean anything to you? 'Swallow Jinpei?' I--I think I remember hearing that--said to me?"

Remy frowned for a moment. "Could hav' been me? Dat night when I brought y' here, I had t' get de antidote down y'. I kept asking y' t' swallow de antidote."

"Oh, that's all it was?" Jinpei looked disappointed as his frown deepened, the memory was gone and he couldn't seem to bring it back to the surface.

"Maybe Gambit should leave y' here. Let y' brain settle down so y' 'member more."

"NO!" Jinpei cried as he caught the edge of Remy's jacket. "I wanna go--"

Jinpei flinched and released his hold on Remy's jacket as he recalled the events of the previous night.

> ~"Rules, protocol, discipline, an' respect... dese are all cornerstones o' de Guild. Y' remember dat. Y' *never* challenge y' Master's decisions. If y' want t' ask y' Master f' somethin', y' use y' head an' ask it right."~

Andre's words echoed in his mind again. He knew better than to try to get something from someone of authority by acting bratty and whiny. It wasn't going to get him anywhere with his--comman--Master.

#Commander?# The image of a pair of sapphire blue eyes appeared and vanished again. Jinpei shook it off quickly to look into the curious hazel-red eyes. "Per--permission to speak, Master?"

Remy's eyes flickered only slightly in surprise. "You may speak, apprentice."

"Please let me come with you tonight, Master. I have trained hard under your tutelage and I wish to prove to you that I am ready! Please, Aniki, take me with you?"

"'Aniki?' Y' be t'inking y' c'n make Remy bring y' wit' flattery?"

"Please? I can do it. I want to show you that I'm ready, please, Aniki?"

Remy studied the boy's eager expression. A twinge touched his heart, making him feel suddenly old as he wondered when he had last displayed such an open, eager expression.

"I think you can handle yourself just fine, Jinpei. You just remember. You do what I tell you and you obey me instantly! No questions, no talking unless I say you can talk. *No* *fireworks*. I will let you come, so long as you can assure me you won't lose your head."

Jinpei gave his chest a hearty thump. "You can count on me, Aniki! I won't let you down, I swear I won't!" he said with a great smile as Remy ran his fingers through the wild head of hair.

"Come, Cockerel... best t' eat first 'fore we get started on de work tonight. Can' do it on an empty stomach, neh?"

"You bet!" Jinpei whooped as he ran from Remy and up the stairs, leaving the Cajun to shake his head and laugh.

"Boys an' deir priorities."

Remy didn' start to Andre apparently materializing by his side.

"Y' sure 'bout de garcon, Gambit. He didn' even sense my approach."

"Still got a lot to learn, dat boy."

{{But not under you. Why do you still want to take the boy out tonight, Gambit? You have your confirmation there. The Cockerel is with those four ninjas you found in the city. Send him back.}}

{{Stop, Andre. I know what I'm doing. I know you're right, but let the boy have his night. What child won't thrill at a chance to play a thief? Be Robin Hood for one night? He will learn.}}

{{*That's* why you're doing this?}} Andre swung him around by the shoulder. {{To give him a chance at knowing he'd never make a true thief?}}

{{I'm not blind, Andre. The boy thrives on confrontation and action. That is the antithesis of a thief. He'll be bored after a time. He'll never learn by listening, he has to experience it.}} Remy laughed at the retired thief's expression. {{The Cockerel's got the dedication and the attitude to learn. But he hasn't got the temperament to be a thief. And to understand this, I will at least give him this night.}}

{{Bullshit! You are just rationalizing your need to have him with stay with you, Remy. You *don't* want the boy to leave you. So you're using every excuse you can think of to *delay* returning him to his family!}}

Remy turned away from him, unable to meet his eyes. They both know that Andre's words were truer. Remy had come to like having Jinpei around. He had never had a younger brother before. And when Jinpei called him 'Aniki', it had touched a cord though he didn't want Jinpei to know it.

{{Some people say the title of Gambit rests on shoulders much too young to hold the name. Some say that Gambit should have stayed dead when the last thief who held that title was killed by the assassins five years ago.}} Andre's hand closed on his shoulder.

{{You are the youngest thief ever to wear the black and magenta, Remy. You gained the rank of Master Thief and earned the honor to be Gambit through hard work and never taking reckless chances. Yet, you're risking your own hide for the dreams of a boy. The boy knows the basic skills and the moves now. But without the temperament...? You had better pray that this night won't be your last!}}

*~*~*~*~*

Lucian David squirmed under the cold eyes of the Council. *The* Master Assassin of Marseilles was in attendance this day and Lucian could barely withhold the shudder which ran through his frame as the cold eyes of death incarnate pierced him.

Age did not stoop the shoulders of this man and the fires of strength still burned strong within the cold gray eyes.

{{You... beg me one reason why we should burden ourselves with such a failure the likes of you. It is a simple task, a task a child could follow better than the Guild Leader before us. You are embarrassing us, David, and that is very dangerous, no?}}

{{Elders, I swear, I give no excuses, I seek only to serve--}}

{{Then do it, David.}} The cold voice purred. {{Accomplish what our clients have asked of you and stop chasing this--this--thief, who makes a mockery of all Corsica with his tricks.}}

{{Yes, Elder.}}

The old man sat back in his chair in obvious rage and pity, all at the same time. Lucian was young, trying to win back the honor of his family at all cost and that was becoming too dear and dangerous for all of them in the larger sense of the world.

Corsica's famed power had been destroyed once by outsiders, it would not be lost again because one henchman could not see fit to follow the orders he'd been given... interference of a Master Thief not withstanding. Still... the old man was not totally without mercy.

{{You have one more night, Lucian. Only one. There will not be another time if you decide to fail. By tomorrow morning, the contract has to be fulfilled. Is that clear to you?}}

{{Yes, elder, I understand. We shall not fail. I promise you, we shall have Cain as called for.}} David slowly backed out of the chamber.

For him, this had been a wake up call to become personally involved in Cain's demise.

*~*~*~*~*

The Council did not immediately disperse on David's departure.

{{There is more to this than appears on the surface.}}

{{What is--}}

{{Gambit is a very specialized emissary, fellow elders. Though this thief will have his, or her, fair share of normal thievery, it is not in Gambit's practice to deliberately interfere in the normal business of others.}} The Master Assassin turned to them thoughtfully. {{This thief may be to us as the title implies. Would you care to guess why?}}

{{We *have* frowned--occasionally on David's methods.}}

{{This is an O'merta.}}

{{Vengence? For what?}}

{{It was rumored to us that the previous Gambit was killed over five years ago. We were not, however, privy to how she died.}} The Master Assassin steepled his hands in front of him in thought. {{Rumor has it that it was more an accident--a case of mistaken identity.}}

{{David?! That botched--}}

{{Gambit *is* above petty revenge. But the methods...}}

{{We all share a certain repugnance to *some* of David's methods.}}

{{It seems we are not alone. That Gambit is in our city stands more a rebuke to us from the Grand Master.}} The Master Assassin frowned at his fellow elders. {{We have been lax in our disciplinary duties, Elders. I see the Grand Master's displeasure in this.}}

{{Let Lucian David complete this contract first, if he can. He has little time to... *play* now. I would doubt that Gambit will interfere in his actions if he carries out his duties to Guild standards.}}

{{That is true. However, we will have to curb David from reverting to form if we do not wish to continue to court the Grand Master's displeasure.}}

{{That may not be possible. David wields an uncommon power among us with his use of the Escillis--}}

{{Which only gives this Gambit his reason to utterly destroy David.}} The Master Assassin's lips broke into a grim smile. {{We may, at the end of this, come to be thankful for the thief's presence.}}

{{*If* Gambit has made this an O'merta.}}

{{David has tonight--}}

{{And tomorrow morning.}}

{{Mor--?}} The Master Assassin frowned as he snapped his head towards one of the elders. {{Yes, he also has a morning, if necessary.

{{If David can end this with Guild honor still intact and retain the respect of the Guild... Well, let us wait and see.}}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued
> 
> I did have this plotted to the end, so I shall endeavour to try and finish it... 


End file.
